Coronavirus cases in India cross 70,000; death toll reaches 2,293

The death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 2,293 and the number of cases climbed to 70,756 in the country on Tuesday, registering an increase of 87 fatalities and 3,604 cases in the last 24 hours since Monday 8 am, according to the Union health ministry.

The number of active COVID-19 cases in the country stood at 46,008, while 22,454 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, the ministry said.

“Thus, around 31.73 per cent patients have recovered so far,” a senior health ministry official said.

A total of 87 deaths were reported since Monday morning — 36 in Maharashtra, 20 in Gujarat, six each in Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, five in West Bengal and one each in Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir.

Of the 2,293 deaths, Maharashtra accounts for the highest number of fatalities at 868, followed by Gujarat (513), Madhya Pradesh (221), West Bengal (190), Rajasthan (113), Uttar Pradesh (80), Delhi (73), Tamil Nadu (53) and Andhra Pradesh (45).

The death toll climbed to 31 in Karnataka as well as in Punjab.

Telangana has reported 30 fatalities due to the respiratory disease, Haryana 11, Jammu and Kashmir 10, Bihar six and Kerala four.

Jharkhand and Odisha have recorded three COVID-19 fatalities each, while Himachal Pradesh, Assam and Chandigarh have reported two deaths each.

Meghalaya and Uttarakhand have reported a fatality each, according to the ministry data.

According to the health ministry’s website, more than 70 per cent of the deaths are due to comorbidities.

The total figure of 70,756 includes foreign nationals.

According to the health ministry data updated in the morning, the highest number of 23,401 confirmed cases is from Maharashtra, followed by Gujarat (8,541), Tamil Nadu (8,002), Delhi (7,233), Rajasthan (3,988), Madhya Pradesh (3,785) and Uttar Pradesh (3,573).

The number of COVID-19 cases has gone up to 2,063 in West Bengal, 2,018 in Andhra Pradesh and 1,877 in Punjab.

It has risen to 1,275 in Telangana, 879 in Jammu and Kashmir, 862 in Karnataka, 747 in Bihar and 730 in Haryana.

Kerala has reported 519 coronavirus cases so far, while Odisha has 414 cases.

A total of 174 people have been infected with the virus in Chandigarh and 160 in Jharkhand.

Tripura has reported 152 cases, Uttarakhand 68, Assam 65, Chhattisgarh  and Himachal Pradesh have 55 cases each and Ladakh has registered 42 coronavirus cases so far.

Thirty-three COVID-19 cases have been reported from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Meghalaya has registered 13 cases, Puducherry 12 and Goa seven.

Manipur has two cases, while Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Dadra and Nagar Haveli have reported a case each.

“Our figures are being reconciled with the ICMR,” the ministry said on its website.

State-wise distribution is subject to further verification and reconciliation, it added.