The toll in the coronavirus epidemic in India rose to 13 on Thursday, and the total number of infections increased to 649, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Of these, 593 patients are still undergoing treatment, 42 people have recovered and one person has left the country.
Three new deaths were reported from Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. Kashmir, too reported one death – its first coronavirus fatality – on Thursday after a 65-year-old man from Hyderpora village died in Srinagar. A 65-year-old woman from Mumbai, who tested positive for coronavirus, also died. The cause of death is yet to be ascertained, said the Maharashtra health department. However, the Union ministry is yet to confirm these two deaths.
Maharashtra, with 124 cases, and Kerala (118) are the worst affected states in the country, according to the Centre’s data.
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Delhi’s tally increased to 36 on Thursday after a mohalla clinic doctor and four others tested positive. A total of 800 people who came in contact with the mohalla clinic doctor in Delhi have been quarantined for 14 days, said Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain. The Centre is, however, yet to confirm this case.
The total number of positive cases in Madhya Pradesh spiked to 20 with five new cases reported from Indore on Thursday. Two more cases of coronavirus were reported from Andhra Pradesh, making the total tally of cases rise to 10, according to the state government.
India began its 21-day lockdown on Wednesday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend a virtual summit of G20 leaders, organised to discuss the coronavirus epidemic, on Thursday. It will be chaired by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The pandemic has now infected 4,70,973 people globally, and killed 21,276 people across 173 countries or territories, according to an estimate by Johns Hopkins University.
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