Coronavirus India Updates: With 69,874 fresh cases in a single day, the Covid-19 tally in India rose to 29,75,701, while the death toll climbed to 55,794, according to latest data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The number of recoveries touched 22,22,577, pushing the recovery rate to 74.69 per cent, while the case fatality rate stood at 1.87 per cent. There are 6,97,330 active cases in the country at present, comprising 23.43 per cent of the total caseload.

A look at the top developments here:

Lok Sabha MP in Odisha tests positive for Covid

Lok Sabha MP and ruling BJD leader Manjulata Mandal on Saturday said she has tested positive for coronavirus and requested people who recently came in contact with her to get themselves tested

Taking to Twitter, the Bhadrak MP said: “On getting the initial symptoms of #COVID19,I got the test done and the report came back positive. My health is fine and stable & I’m in home quarantine. I request that all of you who have come in contact with me in the last few days, please isolate yourself and get your test done.”

Mandal is the second parliamentarian in Odisha after BJP’s Bargarh MP Suresh Pujari to have contracted the disease. Earlier this week, state rural development minister Susanta Singh was also infected.

At least six MLAs have tested positive for the virus in the state over the past few months.

Ganesh festival begins on low-key note in Mumbai

Ganesh pandals wore a deserted look as the 10-day celebrations for Ganeshotsav began across Maharashtra today. Only a few volunteers and workers milling around in masks were spotted.

Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh had earlier urged citizens to avoid crowding in view of the pandemic. He also urged Muslim community members to observe Muharram, which falls in the month-end, in a simple manner and avoid gathering, an official statement said.

The city police have beefed up security to monitor the celebrations. Providing more details on the same, an official told news agency PTI: “Apart from the local police, a company of Rapid Action Force (RAF), three companies of State Reserve Police Force (SRPF), local arms and riot control police have been deployed in the city.”

The official added that Muharram is also being observed in a simple manner as the government has not allowed processions in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis.

Recoveries breach 1 lakh mark in Bengal

The number of recovered Covid-19 patients crossed one lakh on Friday as the release of 3,082 patients took the cumulative figure to 1,01,871 and the recovery rate rose to 76.96 per cent. This is over two percentage points more than the national discharge rate.

Almost half of the recoveries — 48.64 per cent to be precise — have occurred in Kolkata and North 24 Parganas, which have also contributed to almost 48 per cent of the state’s caseload.

Arunachal Pradesh Covid-19 tally crosses 3,100

Sixty more people, including 14 security personnel, have tested positive for Covid-19 in Arunachal Pradesh, taking the state’s tally to 3,126, PTI quoted a health department official as saying.

Thirty-two people were discharged from hospitals on Friday, taking the total number of recoveries to 2,125.

Chandigarh admin orders weekend restrictions as Covid-19 cases rise

Even as Punjab and Haryana imposed weekend restrictions, the Chandigarh administrator on Friday announced that shops and establishments in Chandigarh will remain closed on Saturdays and Sundays till further orders.

Till afternoon, UT had passed just general instructions in the city. However, scenario changed in the evening when Haryana also announced restrictions on the weekend.

While Punjab announced a daily night curfew and weekend lockdown on Thursday, the Haryana government ordered all offices and shops except those selling essentials to be shut over the weekend on Friday evening.