NEW DELHI: Fresh Covid-19 cases in India topped 12,000 again after a day’s gap and daily deaths from the virus crossed 100 on Friday, amid signs in
Maharashtra of another surge in cases, although minor as of now. Maharashtra reported 3,670 new Covid-19 cases and 36 fatalities on Friday. This was the highest daily case count in the state in 34 days and the third day in a row that tally had topped 3,000.
In this three-day period, the number of cases in Maharashtra and Mumbai city rose by 45% and 60%, respectively. In Mumbai, 599 new cases were registered as against 375 on February 9. The number of deaths has, however, not increased in this period. Four deaths were recorded in the city on Friday.
Overall, India recorded 12,148 new cases on Friday, up marginally from 11,977 reported a day earlier. The
daily toll from the infection was recorded at 104, as compared with 85 on Thursday.
The rise in toll was on account of a higher number of deaths in Maharashtra — 36, up from 25 on Thursday.
Kerala registered 18 deaths, followed by Punjab (eight) and Chhattisgarh (seven). Kerala continued to log the highest number of cases in the country, with 5,397 fresh infections detected on Friday.
All in all, cases continue to fall in the country although the rate of decline has slowed considerably in the past week or so. Kerala and Maharashtra continue to account for more than 70% of all new cases in the country.