Supreme Court Scraps All-India Pre-medical Test 2015

New Delhi, Apr 24: The death toll due to the novel coronavirus rose to 723 with 37 fatalities reported since Thursday evening, while the number of cases saw a record jump of 1,752 to go up to 23,452 cases on Friday, according to the Union health ministry.

The previous highest single day increase was on April 20 when 1,540 cases were reported.

The number of active COVID-19 cases stood at 17,915 as 4,813 people were cured and discharged, and one patient migrated, the ministry said.

Thus, about 20.52 per cent of the cases have recovered so far, an official of the ministry said. 

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said that 23,502 samples have been confirmed positive as on April 24 at 9 am.

The health ministry's figure of 23,452 cases include 77 foreign nationals.

A total of 37 deaths were reported since Thursday evening of which 14 fatalities were reported from Maharashtra, nine from Gujarat, three from Uttar Pradesh, two each from Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana and one from Karnataka, the ministry's data stated.

Of the 723 deaths, Maharashtra tops the tally with 283 fatalities, followed by Gujarat at 112, Madhya Pradesh at 83, Delhi at 50, Andhra Pradesh at 29, Rajasthan at 27 and Telengana at 26.

The death toll reached 24 in Uttar Pradesh, 20 in Tamil Nadu while Karantaka has reported 18 deaths.

Punjab has registered 16 deaths while West Bengal has reported 15 fatalities.

The disease has claimed five lives in Jammu and Kashmir, while Kerala, Jharkhand and Haryana have recorded three COVID-19 deaths each.

Bihar has reported two deaths, while Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha and Assam have reported one fatality each, according to the ministry data.

However, a news agency tally of the figures reported by various states as on Friday showed 23,577 cases and 743 deaths in the country.

There has been a lag in the Union health ministry figures, compared to the number of deaths announced by different states, which officials attribute to procedural delays in assigning the cases to individual states.

According to the ministry's data updated in the evening, the highest number of confirmed cases in the country are from Maharashtra at 6,430 followed by Gujarat at 2,624, Delhi at 2,376, Rajasthan at 1,964, Madhya Pradesh at 1,852 and Tamil Nadu at 1,683.

The number of COVID-19 cases has gone up to 1,604 in Uttar Pradesh, 984  in Telangana and 955 in Andhra Pradesh. The number of cases has risen to 514 in West Bengal, 448 in Kerala, 463 in Karnataka, 427 in Jammu and Kashmir,  277 in Punjab and 272 in Haryana.

Bihar has reported 176 coronavirus cases, while Odisha has 90 cases. Fifty-five people have been infected with the virus in Jharkhand and 47 in Uttarakhand. Himachal Pradesh has 40 cases, Chhattisgarh and Assam have registered 36 infections each so far.

Chandigarh has 27 COVID-19 cases, Andaman and Nicobar Islands 22 while  18 cases have been reported from Ladakh.

Meghalaya has reported 12 cases, and Goa and Puducherry have seven COVID-19 cases each.

Manipur and Tripura have two cases each, while Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh have reported a case each.

"Our figures are being reconciled with the ICMR," the ministry said on its website.

States wise distribution is subject to further verification and reconciliation, it said.

Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 13: Three more people in Kerala tested positive for novel coronavirus disease on Monday, said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

"With 3 new COVID-19 cases, the total number of cases in the state has reached 378," said Vijayan at a press conference.

Giving a break-up of the three confirmed COVID-19 cases, he said, "Of the 3 cases, 2 are from Kannur and 1 is from Palakkad."

He further said, "Till date, 15,683 samples tested, out of which 14,829 tested negative."

However, the total number of positive cases is decreasing, the Chief Minister added.

According to a recent update by the Ministery of Health and Family Welfare, the total number of cases in the country has reached 9352.

Daman, Mar 3: A BJP councillor was shot dead on Monday in the Union Territory of Daman, police said.

Salim Memon was sitting in his motorcycle showroom when three to four unidentified persons shot four to five bullets after asking a visitor there to move out, an official said quoting eye-witnesses.

While fleeing, they also shot two rounds close to this visitor who was standing outside, he said.

"Memon was rushed to a hospital in Marwad area but was declared dead on arrival. CCTV footage is being scanned to nab the culprits," said Daman Superintendent of Police Vikramjit Singh.

Memon was elected to Daman municipality as a Congress candidate but then switched over to the BJP.

Sources said Memon, who also has a land brokerage business, had come out of jail a few months back in connection with a case of rivalry.