COVID-19 deaths shoot up as Maharashtra, Delhi reconcile data

India saw the steepest increase in COVID-19 fatalities as the death toll rose by 2,003 in a single day on Wednesday to touch 11,903 cases as Maharashtra and Delhi accounted for previously unreported deaths.

The sudden spike in the death toll has been attributed to Maharashtra and Delhi reconciling its record of previously unreported deaths from across the state.

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Maharashtra had reported 1,409 deaths on Wednesday morning of which 1,328 were not reported earlier, while 81 people succumbed to COVID-19 on Tuesday.

Delhi also reported 437 deaths on Tuesday, that included all the cases examined by the death audit committee for the national capital. Tamil Nadu too reported 49 deaths on Tuesday as against the 10-15 fatalities it had been reporting till last week.

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According to government statistics, nearly 51% of the country’s total cases have been reported from five cities—Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Thane and Ahmedabad.

According to a graph shared by Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant, a possible flattening of the COVID-19 growth curve was being seen in Ahmedabad, Pune and Thane.

However, the growth in Delhi was still exponential and massive testing, proactive detection of hotspots and implementing containment measures were the only way to defeat the pandemic.

Follow: Coronavirus India update: State-wise total number of confirmed cases, deaths on June 17

While Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Delhi continue to account for 70% of the total cases across the country, Haryana saw its sharpest single-day increase in Covid-19 cases on Tuesday as it reported 550 new infections.