India registers over 62,000 new coronavirus cases; 60% of them are from THIS state

The Covid-19 situation of India is getting worrisome day by day, as the possibility of a second wave of coronavirus has forced few states of India to impose fresh restrictions. In the last 24 hours, India has recorded  62,258 new Covid-19 cases. This is the biggest single-day rise since October last year, taking the country's infection tally to 11,908,910. 291 deaths in the last 24 hours have also pushed the total death count to 1,61,240. 

The number of recoveries rose to 11,295,023, with 30,386 more patients being discharged, though the recovery rate had ‘dropped’ slightly to 94.85%. As per the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR),  it has tested nearly 240 million, or 239,769,553 samples for coronavirus thus far. This includes 1,164,915 samples tested by it on March 26.

It is to be noted that out of  62,258 new Covid-19 cases, 36,902, or almost 60 percent came from Maharashtra. Over the past three days, Maharashtra has seen more than 30,000 new cases, with the daily new tally being higher than the day before and the worst since the beginning of the pandemic. 

After Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh registered the highest number of fresh cases with 2,665 infections in the last 24 hours. Maharashtra is followed by Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu in terms of the total number of COVID-19 cases reported so far.

Night curfew in Maharashtra

With the continuous rise in Covid cases, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on March 26 imposed a night curfew from Sunday. CM Uddhav Thackeray in a statement released by his office was quoted and said, "I do not wish to impose lockdown. But there seems a possibility of healthcare facilities falling short given the rise in number of coronavirus patients."

The order also directed malls to remain shut from 8 pm to 7 am in the state. At present, shops in Mumbai malls are open till 9.30 pm while food courts run till 11 pm.

(Image Credits: PTI)