Death toll rises to 420; positive cases climb to 12,759 in India

New Delhi: The death toll due to the novel coronavirus rose to 420 with 28 fatalities reported since Wednesday evening, while the number of cases saw a jump of 826 to go up to 12,759 cases on Thursday, according to the Union Health Ministry.

The number of active COVID-19 cases stood at 10,824 while as many as 1,514 people have been cured and discharged, and one has migrated, it said. The total number of cases include 76 foreign nationals.

Twenty-eight deaths have been reported since Wednesday evening, of which nine were reported from Maharashtra, six from Gujarat, five from Andhra Pradesh, and two each from Delhi, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.

Of the total 420 deaths, Maharashtra tops the tally with 187 fatalities, followed by Madhya Pradesh at 53, Gujarat 36, Delhi 32 and Telengana 18. Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh have reported 14 deaths each while Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka 13 deaths each.

West Bengal has reported seven COVID-19 fatalities. Four persons have lost their lives in Jammu and Kashmir while Kerala, Haryana and Rajasthan have recorded three deaths each. Jharkhand has reported two deaths.

Meghalaya, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha and Assam have reported one fatality each, according to health ministry data.

However, a PTI tally of figures reported by various states as on Thursday showed at least 12,953 cases and 436 deaths.

There has been a lag in the Union Health Ministry figures, compared to the number of deaths announced by different states, which officials attribute to procedural delays in assigning the cases to individual states.