NEW DELHI: The Covid-19 pandemic worsened in the country as fresh cases on Tuesday zoomed past the 30,000 mark for the first time, even as total deaths from the virus crossed 24,000, with the second-highest single-day addition of 582 fatalities to the toll.
As many as 30,142 new infections emerged across the country on Tuesday, taking the total caseload to 9,36,994, as per data collated from state governments. The previous highest single-day count of cases was 29,271 reported on Sunday.
On Sunday and Monday, India’s daily Covid-19 cases were the second highest in the world after the US, having overtaken Brazil’s tally on these days. Brazil’s daily count had fallen sharply since Friday, when the country had reported over 45,000 new infections, while India’s tally was gradually rising. Global data for Tuesday was awaited at the time of going to press
In another record of sorts, as many as 10 states reported more than 1,000 fresh infections each on Tuesday. The day’s fatality count, at 582, was the second-highest since 608 reported on July 4 (discounting the back-dated deaths numbering 2,003 reported on June 16).
The record rise in daily cases was accompanied by the highest single-day increase in infections in at least seven states — Tamil Nadu (4,526 new cases), Bihar (1,432), Gujarat (915), Madhya Pradesh (798), Haryana (699), Kerala (608) and Goa (170).
Besides, major Covid-19 states such as Maharashtra (6,741 new cases), Delhi (1,606), Assam (1,001) and Rajasthan (635) reported much higher numbers than the previous day.
Maharashtra again recorded the highest death toll at 213, followed by Karnataka (87), Tamil Nadu (67), Andhra Pradesh (43), Delhi (35) and Uttar Pradesh (28).
In Tamil Nadu, all districts recorded fresh cases and 21 districts recorded deaths on Tuesday, as the state reported the highest one-day spike of 4,526 fresh cases, with the case tally reaching 1,47,324. The toll rose to 2,099 with 67 deaths reported in the last 24 hours.
Karnataka rose to the number 4 spot in the country in terms of Covid-19 cases, surpassing Gujarat on Tuesday. With 2,496 new cases, Karnataka’s total tally rose to 44,077.
Maharashtra has reported 2.6 lakh cases, Tamil Nadu 1.4 lakh cases and Delhi 1.1 lakh cases. Gujarat, with 43,723 cases, is now at the fifth position.
For the first time in four days, Karnataka, at 2,496 cases, reported fewer than 2,500 cases. Bengaluru reported 1,267 cases, more than Mumbai (969) and Chennai (1,078). The state’s 87 Covid-19 fatalities were its highest in 24 hours till date. So was Bengaluru’s 56 deaths.
Kerala too registered a sharp rise in Covid-19 cases with 608 more persons testing positive for the virus, taking the total number of cases reported to 8,930.
Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said clusters had been found in various districts in the state and the next stage was community transmission.
Telangana on Tuesday refuted charges that it was not testing enough Covid-19 suspects and flouting Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) norms, even as the state registered 10 deaths and 1,524 new cases.
