India witnessed its highest spike in the novel coronavirus cases on Friday as it reported close to 8,000 fresh COVID-19 positive cases taking the total tally up to 1.73 lakh. The death number also witnessed the biggest jump with 265 deaths in the last 24 hours.
Among the states contributing to the number of cases, Maharashtra continued to be the largest contributor but several other states also recorded higher numbers on Friday. The National Capital Region of Delhi witnessed over 1,000 cases for the second straight day and the southern state Tamil Nadu reported 800 new cases.
The coronavirus cases in Maharashtra crossed the 60,000 mark as it continues to remain the only Indian state to record over 50,000 cases in the country. The death toll in the state crossed 2,000 making it the only Indian state to have over 2,000 death. The cases in the state capital crossed 36,000 while it also reported 8,000 new recoveries.
On Friday, Tamil Nadu became the second state after Maharashtra to record 20,000 cases as 874 fresh cases were tested positive in the last 24 hours. The total number of cases in the state stands at 20,246. Tamil Nadu is the only state in Southern India to have crossed 5,000 cases.
Delhi, on the other hand, saw 2,000 new cases in 2 days as the tally jumped to 15,934 and the death toll neared to 400. The western state, Gujarat, reported 372 cases in the last 24 hours. The state now has the fourth-highest number of cases in the country. Its fatality rate continues to worsen as the state has recorded 980 deaths in total.
70 percent of cases from 13 cities
According to the figures by the Central government, more than 70 percent of all the cases in the country has come from 13 cities across states. The center is believed to have identified these 13 cities and is looking to implement stringent measures in the areas. The 13 cities part of the list is Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Thane, Pune, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Howrah, Indore, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Chengalpattu and Thiruvallur. The Cabinet Secretary and the state chief secretaries have said to have taken stock of the situation and is likely to take a decision on the extension of the lockdown.
Source: Livemint
