Southern states, Puducherry tally 24,488 COVID-19 cases

After witnessing a dip yesterday, Karnataka's virus tally spiralled on Thursday, when the state reported its biggest single-day spike of 6,128 new cases and 83 related fatalities. The infection count stood at 1,18,632 and the death toll was 2,230, the health department said.

Andhra Pradesh's coronavirus numbers galloped on Thursday, with the state reporting 10,167 COVID-19 cases, its second five digit single-day tally, the highest so far, in two days, while neighbouring Karnataka saw yet another record spike in infections. Tamil Nadu and Kerala saw significant dip in their share of cases, as was the case with Puducherry but Telangana's upward spiral continued.

The five southern states and the union territory together contributed to 24,488 fresh cases to the national tally. In what could be seen as an alarming situation, Andhra Pradesh recorded a new record high of 10,167 cases on Thursday, the second day in a row it reported 10,000 plus infections.

Subsequently, the cumulative figure touched 1,30,557 but recovery set a single day record with 4,618 persons being cured of the deadly virus and discharged from hospitals. A new daily high casualties of 68 pushed the overall toll to 1,281, according to the latest bulletin. The mortality rate fell marginally to 0.98 per cent.

Over the past two days, a record number of 1,40,652 samples were tested, of which 20,260 turned positive and the overall infection positivity rate shot further up to 6.91 per cent. In all, the state now has 69,252 active Covid-19 cases after 60,024 had recovered.

The government attributed the rapid spike in the COVID-19 cases over the past few days to ramped up testing besides movement of people from other states with easing of lockdown restrictions. After witnessing a dip yesterday, Karnataka's virus tally spiralled on Thursday, when the state reported its biggest single-day spike of 6,128 new cases and 83 related fatalities.

The infection count stood at 1,18,632 and the death toll was 2,230, the health department said. The day also saw a record 3,793 patients getting discharged after recovery.

Of the fresh cases reported today, a whopping 2,233 cases were from Bengaluru urban alone. It said, out of 69,700 active cases, 69,080 patients are in isolation at designated hospitals and are stable, while 620 are in ICU.

Tamil Nadu, after reporting cases in excess of 6,000 for the past few days, saw the numbers dip below the 5,000- mark on Thursday, with 5,864 infections, besides 97 deaths. This came on a day when Chief Minister K Palaniswami announced extending the coronavirus-induced lockdown till August 31 with a new set of relaxations including increasing the workforce in private establishments and allowing shops to extend their business hours.

The state recorded 5,295 recoveries, taking the cumulative number of those discharged to 1,78,178. Active cases, including those in isolation, were 57,962.

Chennai saw 1,175 people contracting the contagion to touch an aggregate of 98,767. Kerala reported 506 positive cases on Thursday, down from the highest single day spike of 1,167 on July 28, and 903 on Wednesday.

There were 794 recoveries, even as the death toll climbed to 70 with two more fatalities. The state has decided to implement home care isolation on an experimental basis for health workers who test positive but are asymptomatic.

Those interested will have to give an affidavit about theirwillingness to undergo the treatment at home, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said. Telangana recorded 1,811 fresh COVID-19 cases and 13 fatalities, pushing the state's gross further up to 60,717.

Out of the new positive cases, 521 were from the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), followed by Ranga Reddy (289) and Medchal-Malkajgiri (151) districts, a state government bulletin said on Thursday, providing data as of 8 PM on July 29. With 13 more deaths, the COVID-19 toll in the state rose to 505.

In Puducherry, near Tamil Nadu, 122 fresh cases were reported on Thursday, taking the infection count in the union territory to 3,293..