New Delhi: The death toll due to the novel coronavirus pandemic rose to 1,147 with 72 more fatalities. The number of cases climbed to 35,043 in the country Friday, the Union Health Ministry said. The active COVID-19 cases stood at 25,007, while 8,888 people have recovered. In the last 24 hours, the country has reported a record increase of 1,993 COVID-19 cases.
Seventy-two deaths were reported since Thursday evening. Twenty seven fatalities were from Maharashtra, 17 from Gujarat and 11 from West Bengal. Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan reported seven deaths each and three were from Delhi.
Out of the total 1,147 deaths so far Maharashtra tops the tally with 459 fatalities. It is followed by Gujarat (214), Madhya Pradesh (137), Delhi (59), Rajasthan (58), Uttar Pradesh (39), West Bengal (33) and Andhra Pradesh (31). The COVID-19 toll reached 27 in Tamil Nadu, 26 in Telengana, while Karantaka has reported 21 deaths. Punjab has registered 19 fatalities so far. The pathogen has claimed eight lives in Jammu and Kashmir, four in Kerala. Jharkhand and Haryana have recorded three deaths each.
The highest number of confirmed cases is from Maharashtra at 10,498. It is followed by Gujarat (4,395), Delhi (3,515) and Madhya Pradesh (2,660).
Rajasthan has reported 2,584 infections, Tamil Nadu 2,323 and Uttar Pradesh 2,203 cases each. The COVID-19 cases have gone up to 1,403 in Andhra Pradesh and 1,038 in Telangana. The number of confirmed cases has risen to 795 in West Bengal, 614 in Jammu and Kashmir, 565 in Karnataka, 497 in Kerala, 418 in Bihar and 357 in Punjab.
“Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR),” the Health Ministry said on its website. It also said that 291 cases are being assigned to states for contact tracing.
Meanwhile in a separate development Thursday Prime Minister Narendra Modi held meetings to discuss strategies to boost the economy. The meetings were conducted to attract more foreign investments into India as well as promote local investments. Modi reviewed the state of investments in defence, aerospace and mine and mineral sectors.
An official statement said various strategies to bring investments into India on a fast-track mode were discussed. Efforts to promote domestic sectors were also discussed in the meeting.
The high-level meetings come amid the ongoing global backlash against China. Several companies are now looking for new bases to set up their businesses, according to reports.
Agencies