New Delhi: Eight COVID-19 patients died and 354 news cases were reported in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of infected people in the country to 4,421, the Union Health Ministry said on Tuesday.
The death toll due to the novel coronavirus now stands at 117, it said.
During a press briefing, Joint Secretary in the ministry Lav Agarwal said,”Total 4,421 people have been infected with the virus.” Of them, 326 people have recovered.
However, a PTI tally based on figures reported by states directly on Monday night showed at least 138 deaths across the country, while the confirmed cases reached 4,683. Of them, 359 have been cured and discharged.
Agarwal said cluster containment strategies and action plans for outbreaks, which are amenable to management, are giving required results in some areas like Agra, Gautam Budh Nagar, Bhilwara, East Delhi and Mumbai.
These strategies are also being adopted in other coronavirus-affected districts, he said.
According to a study by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), one COVID-19 patient can infect 406 people in 30 days if he/she does not follow lockdown or social distancing, Agarwal said.
Meanwhile, the highest number of confirmed cases are from Maharashtra at 748, followed by Tamil Nadu at 621 and Delhi with 523 cases. Kerala reported 327 COVID-19 cases, Telangana 321, Uttar Pradesh 305 and Rajasthan 288 cases.
Andhra Pradesh reported 226 coronavirus cases. Novel coronavirus cases have risen to 165 in Madhya Pradesh, 151 in Karnataka and 144 in Gujarat.
Jammu and Kashmir has 109 cases, West Bengal has 91, Haryana 90 and Punjab 76 cases of the infection. Thirty-two people were infected with the virus in Bihar while Uttarakhand has 31 patients and Assam 26.
Odisha reported 21 coronavirus cases, Chandigarh 18, Ladakh 14 and Himachal Pradesh 13 cases.
Ten cases each have been reported from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Chhattisgarh.
Goa has reported seven COVID-19 infections, followed by Puducherry with five cases. Jharkhand has reported four cases and Manipur two.
Tripura, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh have reported one case of the infection each. “State-wise distribution is subject to further verification and reconciliation,” the ministry said on its website.
There has been a lag in the Union Health Ministry figures, compared to the numbers announced by different states, which officials attribute to procedural delays in assigning the cases to individual states. (PTI)
