New Delhi/ Mumbai | Jagran News Desk: Delhi and Maharashtra witnessed another spike in COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, sounding an alarm as several state governments and union territory (UT) administrations reimpose minor restrictions to avoid a fourth wave of the pandemic, which some experts have claimed will hit India in late May or early June.
Delhi, according to data shared by the state health department, recorded 632 new cases, a nearly 26 per cent jump in the last 24 hours. The positivity rate also jumped to 4.42 per cent, the health department, but noted that no new death was reported in the city.
Delhi's COVID tally at present stands at 18.69 lakh with 26,160 deaths, as per the state health department.
Similarly, Maharashtra - the worst-hit state in India - reported 137 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, with Mumbai alone recording 85 fresh infections. This, according to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), is the biggest one-day spike in Mumbai since March 2.
Although Mumbai saw a spike in cases, the state health department said several districts - Sindhudurg, Jalgaon, Nandurbar, Dhule, Jalna, Parbhani, Nanded, Osmanabad, Washim, Buldhana, Yavatmal, Bhandara and Wardha - have no active case at present.
Revealing that its recovery rate stands at 98.11 per cent, the health department said Maharashtra's total caseload and death toll are at 78.76 lakh and 1.47 lakh respectively.
Besides Delhi and Maharashtra, Karnataka witnessed a minor spike in its daily COVID-19 cases and reported 62 fresh infections and zero fatalities on Tuesday, taking the total infection to 39.46 lakh, said the state health department.
Of the total infections, Bengaluru urban district saw 57 while two each in Shivamogga and Dakshina Kannada and one in Mysuru. There were zero infections and fatalities in 27 districts of the state, the health department said, adding that the positivity rate for the day stood at 0.78 per cent.
Meanwhile, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Mizoram reported 12, 10, nine, 30, 22, and 99 new COVID-19 cases respectively.
Centre writes to states
With a slight rise in COVID-19 cases in India, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan on Tuesday wrote a letter to state governments of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Maharashtra, and Mizoram, expressing concerns over the increasing positivity rate and fresh infections.
In his letter, Bhushan directed the state governments to 'strictly' keep a watch on rising cases and take pre-emptive action in areas witnessing a spike. He also asked states to ensure that people wear masks in crowded places.
"India has witnessed a sustained and significant decline in the number of COVID-19 cases over the past 2 months, with the country reporting less than 1000 daily new cases for the past few days. The weekly positivity rate has remained below 1 per cent. There are few states which are reporting a higher contribution to India’s daily new cases," he wrote.