India registered a record single-day rise in Covid-19 cases with 8,723 patients testing positive on Wednesday, the third day of the unlocking of the country, even as 254 more people died, taking the cumulative toll beyond the 6,000-mark to 6,079.
With 254 casualties – India’s second highest single-day toll (the highest was 270 on May 29)– the country continued to breach the 200-mark for the sixth consecutive day even as the number of fresh Covid-19 cases reached a new high in Delhi (1,513), Tamil Nadu (1,286), Gujarat (485) and Andhra Pradesh (180).
With a record 122 deaths, Maharashtra alone accounted for 48% of the country’s casualties on Wednesday, followed by Delhi (50 deaths), Gujarat (30), Tamil Nadu (11) and Bengal (10).
Maharashtra’s toll surpassed the 2,500 mark to reach 2,587. The state government claimed that the rate of increase of cases has nearly halved from 7.76% on May 1 to 4.15% on June 1 even as 2,560 new cases were added on Wednesday, taking the overall case count to 74,860. Public health minister Rajesh Tope said the rate of increase in cases has c