Mumbai continued to add the highest number of cases to the state’s tally, reporting another 411 infected. (Representational Photo)

Maharashtra on Sunday registered 678 new COVID-19 cases, taking the total patient count in the state to 12,974. The state has seen 548 deaths, 27 of them over the last 24 hours. Chandrapur district, till now in the green zone, reported its first case.

Mumbai continued to add the highest number of cases to the state’s tally, reporting another 411 infected.

The total number of infected in the city has touched 8,800, or 69 per cent of Maharashtra’s total count. On Thursday, Mumbai reported 21 more deaths, taking its toll to 343.

After Mumbai, Pune – the second worst-hit in the state – saw four deaths while two persons died in Thane district.

Of the 27 dead, 16 were men and 11 women. While 14 of those who died were over the age of 60, 10 were between the age of 40 and 59. Only three were below 40. Moreover, 13 of the deceased suffered from comorbidities like diabetes, hypertension, asthma or heart disease.

Akola district has registered a sudden jump in COVID-19 deaths with five persons dying in the last six days, taking the tally to seven. All the deceased had come in contact with the first patient to had die in the city early last month. With this, Akola has become the second biggest hotspot in Vidarbha after Amravati, which has registered 10 deaths.

Meanwhile, mystery shrouds the first case in Chandrapur with officials unable to trace the origin of the infection. The man was found to be infected after he got himself admitted to a hospital as he suffered from breathlessness.

“The 50-year-old man is a security guard at an apartment building. He hasn’t travelled anywhere. So, there are chances that he may have contracted the infection from someone in the building,” said a source.

The distinct administration has sent all the 28 people living in the building to home quarantine and taken samples of the man’s wife and two sons for tests. Around 2,500 people from the area where the man stays have been made to undergo a general health check up. The area has been sealed.

So far, Maharashtra has collected over 1.7 lakh samples for testing. The rate of testing per million in the state stands at 1,237 while the national average is 803. On Sunday, 2,115 people were discharged from hospitals after recovery. The state at present has 1.81 lakh people in home quarantine.