Five states account for 70% of COVID-19 deaths, 62% of active cases: Union Health Ministry

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Sep 09, 2020: The Union Health Ministry on Tuesday (September 8, 2020) said that five states - Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu - account for nearly 70 per cent of deaths due to COVID-19 in the country.

Addressing a press conference in the national capital, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said 37.14 per cent deaths have been reported from Maharashtra, 10.89 per cent from Tamil Nadu, 8.98 per cent from Karnataka, 6.17 per cent from Andhra Pradesh and 5.46 per cent from Uttar Pradesh.

"Five states namely Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu account for 70 per cent of deaths due to COVID-19 in the country," he said.

Of the 1,133 COVID19 deaths reported in the last 24 hours, Maharashtra accounts for 423 deaths, he said. Bhushan said these five states also account for 62 per cent of total active cases in the country.

He said Maharashtra accounts for 27 per cent of the total active cases, Andhra Pradesh 11 per cent, Karnataka 10.98 per cent, Uttar Pradesh about seven per cent, and Tamil Nadu around six per cent. As many as 14 states/UTs have less than 5,000 active COVID-19 cases, he said.

He said apart from these five states other states and union territories account for 31.37 per cent of the deaths due to the disease.

Highlighting repeated complaints from states that people are becoming lax in taking precautions against COVID-19, the Centre on Tuesday said following public health measures like social distancing and wearing masks remains key to slowing the pandemic.

Addressing the press briefing, NITI Aayog member VK Paul, who also heads COVID-19 national task force, stressed on the importance of testing in containing the pandemic.

"People should not be afraid of getting tested. They should come forward to get themselves tested for COVID-19 if they have symptoms," he said.

At a time when coronavirus cases are on the rise, Paul said there have been repeated complaints from states about people becoming lax in taking safety precautions.

"We are getting repeated complaints from states that people have become lax (in taking precautions)," he said.

The NITI Aayog official asserted that following social distancing, wearing masks, maintaining hand hygiene and avoiding big gatherings remain vital in preventing the spread of the infection.

India`s total COVID-19 count reached 42,80,423 on Tuesday.



courtesy:Zeenews