Karnataka on Sunday recorded 626 COVID-19 deaths, the highest in a single day since the onset of the pandemic.
However, officials said the rise in numbers was due to a backlog and delays in reporting. An analysis of the data showed that though the fatalities were recorded in the State’s bulletin on Sunday, a large number of those people had succumbed to the virus back in April and in the first half of May.
“There is a spike in the number of deaths as there was a delay in reporting them. There is no need for people to panic,” said an official working with the Department of Health and Family Welfare. The total number of COVID-19 deaths in the State currently stands at 25,282. With 362 deaths reported in Bengaluru Urban on Sunday, the district accounted for more than half the fatalities. The neighbouring Bengaluru Rural district reported 30 deaths.
As many as 25,979 new COVID-19 positive cases were recorded across Karnataka. The total number of positive cases in the State is currently 24.24 lakh. According to the bulletin, 35,573 patients were discharged on Sunday, taking the total discharges to 19.26 lakh. There are 4.72 active lakh cases in the State.
The positivity rate for the day was 20.76%, while the case fatality rate was 2.4%.