Coronavirus update: COVID-19 cases in India near 50,000, nearly 3,000 new cases for 2nd day. State-wise tally

• The death toll from the virus zoomed to 126 in last 24 hours, taking the number of deaths to 1,694
   
• Punjab also emerged as a cause of concern as the city witnessed a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases in last few days
   

India’s COVID-19 count inched close to the 50,000-mark as the states registered 2,958 fresh coronavirus cases in last 24 hours. The deadly novel coronavirus infected 49,391 in India. The death toll from the virus zoomed to 126 on Tuesday. Maharashtra reported the highest number of COVID-19 death on Tuesday, taking total number of deaths in the country to 1,694.

Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat continued to report high number of COVID-19 cases while Delhi’s coronavirus count reached 5,000 after a deadly spike on Monday.

There were 33,554 active coronavirus cases in India, according to ministry of health and welfare. At least 14,182 people were recovered from the disease so far.

Mumbai was the worst affected city by coronavirus pandemic. The financial capital of India alone recorded nearly 10,000 COVID-19 cases. The total number of coronavirus patients in the state increased to 15,525, the highest in the country. As many as 617 people died to coronavirus disease in the state.

Tamil Nadu also saw a sudden spike in coronavirus cases this week. As many as 508 people tested positive for the virus on Tuesday. The total coronavirus count in the state rose to 4,058.

Punjab also emerged as a cause of concern as the city witnessed a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases in last few days. On Tuesday, the state added over 200 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total count in Punjab to 1,451.

Union health minister Harsh Vardhan hoped that “behavioural changes” brought about by the infection could become the “new normal” for a healthy society after the pandemic abates.

India entered the third week of nationwide lockdown to mitigate the spread of the virus. The Centre relaxed several lockdown norms to restart the economy which had come to a standstill due to coronavirus pandemic. However, authorities in Mumbai decided to shut the all the shops, except the grocery stores, medical outlets, as people fail to maintain social-distancing norms.

Here is state-wise status of coronavirus cases in India

• Andaman and Nicobar Islands – 33
• Andhra Pradesh – 1,717
• Assam – 43
• Bihar – 536
• Chandigarh – 111
• Chhattisgarh – 59
• Dadar Nagar Haveli – 1
• Delhi – 5,104
• Gujarat – 6,245
• Haryana – 541
• Himachal Pradesh – 42
• Jammu and Kashmir – 741
• Jharkhand – 125
• Karnataka – 671
• Kerala – 502
• Ladakh – 41
• Madhya Pradesh – 3,049
• Maharashtra – 15,525
• Meghalaya – 12
• Mizoram – 1
• Odisha – 175
• Puducherry – 9
• Punjab – 1,451
• Rajasthan – 3,158
• Tamil Nadu – 4,058
• Telangana – 1,096
• Tripura – 43
• Uttarakhand – 61
• Uttar Pradesh – 2,880
• West Bengal – 1,344

More than 3.6 million cases of the novel coronavirus, including at least 257,000 deaths were recorded worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University. In the United States, over 1.2 million confirmed positive for COVID-19 infection. The death toll in the country rose to 71,000.