Coronavirus cases in India rise to 2,301, death toll reaches 56

New Delhi: India's COVID-19 count continued to rise sharply today. Over 300 new coronavirus cases were reported across the country in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of COVID-19 cases in India to 2,301. Death toll has increased to 56.

There were 2,088 active coronavirus patients in India, according to the Union ministry of health and welfare. Till now, 156 patients were recovered from the disease.

Coronavirus infections rose sharply in Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh in the last few days. Most of the fresh cases were linked to a religious congregation held in Delhi's Nizamuddin last month. Authorities had found and quarantined 9,000 people connected to Delhi event or their close contacts, home ministry official said on Thursday.

At least six people died due to COVID-19 infection in the country during the last 24 hours.

Coronavirus has affected 219 people in the national capital. Delhi has added 67 cases in 24 hours, the new single-day high. At least six doctors in the national capital were confirmed with COVID-19 infection.

COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra appeared to have slowed down a bit as the state had added over 30 cases on Wednesday. Maharashtra is the worst affected state with 335 coronavirus cases and 16 deaths.

Tamil Nadu witnessed a steep rise in COVID-19 cases as 309 people had tested positive for coronavirus in the state. Kerala, another state which is severely hit by the COVID-19 outbreak, reported 286 cases. There were 132 coronavirus patients in Andhra Pradesh. Karnataka confirmed 124 COVID-19 cases. The coronavirus cases in Telangana stood at 107.

Gujarat reported 87 COVID-19 patients while the total number of coronavirus cases in Punjab stood at 46. The number of COVID-19 cases surged to 113 in Uttar Pradesh, 99 in Madhya Pradesh and 43 in Haryana.

Assam reported a surge in coronavirus cases as over 12 people were diagnosed with COVID-19 infection on Wednesday. The total number of coronavirus cases in West Bengal has climbed to 53.

There were 16 coronavirus patients in Chandigarh, nine in Chhattishgarh, six each in Goa and Himachal Pradesh and five in Odisha.

The World Bank, in the meantime, has approved $1 billion emergency funding for India to help it tackle the coronavirus pandemic. India went under a nationwide lockdown for three weeks to mitigate the virus spread. Prime Minister Narendra Modi today addressed the nation with a video message and asked people to show up on their balconies and gates once again, without breaching social distancing, to display India's collective strength in the fight against coronavirus.

The novel coronavirus has infected more than 1,015,000 people and killed over 53,000 all over the world, according to Johns Hopkins University. The US has reported more than 245,000 cases, with over 5,900 deaths.