Maharashtra Covid-19 cases near 3,000-mark, Mumbai reports 66 new corona cases

The number of coronavirus cases in Maharashtra rose to 2,801 today with 117 new patients being detected, a health official said. Sixty-six new cases were found in Mumbai and 44 in Pune, he said. Mumbai and Pune were followed by Mira Bhayandar and Thane rural (2 each) and Thane City, Vasai Virar and Pimpri Chinchwad (1 each), as per the state health department.

Maharashtra continues to remain the worst COVID-19 affected state.

Meanwhile, the death toll due to the virus rose to 377 while the number of cases in the country climbed to 11,439 today, according to the Health Ministry.

Of the total 377 deaths, Maharashtra tops the tally with 178, followed by Madhya Pradesh at 50, Delhi at 30, Gujarat at 28 and Telangana at 17. Punjab and Tamil Nadu have reported 12 deaths each. Karnataka has reported 10 fatalities while Andhra Pradesh reported nine deaths.

In his address to the nation on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the extension of lockdown till May 3 amid surging coronavirus cases in the country.

In other news, cab aggregator Ola today announced its partnership with Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to support essential mobility amid the nationwide lockdown. "Ola has provided a dedicated fleet of cars to BMC in order to help ferry medical staff, healthcare workers and paramedical staff from homes to hospitals in Mumbai. The cars will also be used to ferry doctors and BMC officials across Mumbai to help the frontline warriors fight against COVID-19," the company said in a statement.

-With agency inputs