India's COVID-19 cases cross China's tally

THE death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 2,752 in India and the number of cases climbed to 85,940 on Saturday (16). The country reported 103 deaths and 3,970 cases in the last 24 hours, said the health ministry.

The country now crossed China's tally in total number of infections. According to worldometer, the total cases in mainland China stand at 82,941 with 4,633 deaths.

India reported its first case of the deadly virus on January 30 in the Southern state of Kerala.

The number of active cases stood at 53,035, while 30,152 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, the health ministry said.   "Thus, around 35.08 per cent patients have recovered so far," a senior health ministry official said.   The total confirmed cases include foreign nationals too.

Of the 103 deaths reported since Friday (15) morning, 49 were in Maharashtra, 20 in Gujarat, 10 in West Bengal, eight in Delhi, seven in Uttar Pradesh, five in Tamil Nadu, two in Madhya Pradesh, one each in Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh.

Of the 2,752 fatalities, Maharashtra tops the tally with 1,068 deaths, Gujarat comes second with 606 deaths, followed by Madhya Pradesh at 239, West Bengal at 225, Rajasthan at 125, Delhi at 123, Uttar Pradesh at 95, Tamil Nadu at 71 and Andhra Pradesh at 48.

The death toll reached 36 in Karnataka, 34 in Telangana and 32 in Punjab, the ministry said.  Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir have reported 11 fatalities each due to the disease, while Bihar has registered seven and Kerala has reported four deaths.  Jharkhand, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh and Odisha have recorded three COVID-19 fatalities each, while Assam has reported two deaths.

Meghalaya, Uttarakhand and Puducherry have reported one fatality each, according to the ministry data.  More than 70 per cent of the deaths are due to comorbidities (existence of multiple disorders), the ministry added.