NEW DELHI: The Covid-19 pandemic touched two grim milestones in India, with the total number of cases crossing 15,000 and the death toll going past 500 even as the country recorded its highest single-day rise in numbers at 1,266 on Saturday.
While the count of coronavirus cases continues to surge in states such as Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi and Rajasthan, the good news is that the infection rate is dipping slightly. It took seven-eight days for cases to double to 15,000, a slower pace than earlier.
Worryingly for Delhi, none of the 186 new cases were linked to the Tablighi Jamaat outbreak.
While Maharashtra continued to record the highest number of new cases at 328 on Saturday — it’s third-highest single-day number — Gujarat recorded the sharpest spike in cases. A record 280 new cases were reported in the past 24 hours, of which 239 or 85% were registered in Ahmedabad alone. With this, the state’s total count of Covid-19 has reached 1,376. Gujarat also recorded 12 deaths in a day – highest so far – taking the state’s death toll to 53.
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Maharashtra recorded 11 more deaths. The state’s total coronavirus count now stands at 3,648.
Delhi, which had witnessed