80% of new Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra, 5 other states: Govt

Nearly 80 per cent of the 62,258 cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) reported across the country in the last 24 hours came from six states, according to the Union ministry of health and family welfare on Saturday. Maharashtra, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh continue to report a surge in the daily cases of Covid-19, the Union health ministry added. “79.57% of the new cases are reported from these 6 states,” it said in a statement.

Of the 62,258 cases of the coronavirus disease registered between Friday and Saturday morning, Maharashtra has reported the highest infections at 36,902, followed by Punjab with 3,122, Chhattisgarh with 2,665, Karnataka 2566, Gujarat 2190 and Madhya Pradesh with 2091 infections.

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Maharashtra, Kerala and Punjab cumulatively account for 73% of the 452,647 active cases in the country. “The present active caseload now stands at 3.8% of India’s total positive cases. A net incline of 31,581 cases recorded from the total active caseload in the last 24 hours,” the health ministry said.

The health ministry’s data updated at 8am on Saturday show that of the 291 deaths related to Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, 75.6 per cent have occurred in Maharashtra, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Kerala and Karnataka. Maharashtra saw the maximum casualties at 112, Punjab follows with 59 daily deaths, Chhattisgarh has 22, Kerala 14 and Karnataka witnessed 13 fatalities, it said.

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Fourteen states and Union territories have not reported any Covid-19 deaths in the last 24 hours. These include Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Odisha, Puducherry, Lakshadweep, Sikkim, Daman and Diu and Dadra Nagar Haveli, Ladakh, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram, Andaman-Nicobar, Arunachal Pradesh.

India’s cumulative recoveries stand at 11,295,023 and the national recovery rate is down at 94.84%. Of the 30,386 recoveries registered in the last 24 hours, Maharashtra has reported the maximum number of single-day recoveries with 17,019 newly-recovered cases, the health ministry said.

India stands second in the world in terms of the number of vaccine doses administered as of March 25, the ministry also said. “On the other hand, the total vaccination coverage in India has crossed 5.8-crore. More than 5.81 cr (5,81,09,773) vaccine doses have been administered through 9,45,168 sessions, as per the provisional report till 7 am on today,” it added.

These include 80,96,687 healthcare workers who have received the first dose and 51,44,011 who have got the second dose. There are 87,52,566 frontline workers who have been given the first dose and 35,39,144 the second one. As many as 61,72,032 people over 45 years of age and with specific co-morbidities and 2,64,05,333 aged more than 60 years have taken their first dose.

"Eight states account for 60% of the cumulative vaccine doses given so far in India. Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat have crossed the benchmark of 5 million vaccinations," it said.