COVID-19 death toll rises to 1,783 in India; cases climb to 52,952
New Delhi: The death toll due to COVID-19 in the country rose to 1,783 while the number of cases climbed to 52,952 on Thursday, registering an increase of 89 deaths and 3,561 cases in the last 24 hours, the Union Health Ministry said.
The number of active COVID-19 cases stood at 35,902 while 15,266 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, it said.
"Thus, around 28.83 per cent patients have recovered so far," a senior health ministry official said. The total number of cases also include 111 foreign nationals.
A total of 89 deaths deaths have been reported since Wednesday morning, of which 34 people died in Maharashtra, 28 in Gujarat, nine in Madhya Pradesh, four each in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, three in Rajasthan, two each from Punjab and Tamil Nadu and one each from Delhi, Haryana and Orissa.
Of the 1,783 fatalities, Maharashtra tops the tally with 651 fatalities, Gujarat comes second with 396 deaths, followed by Madhya Pradesh at 185, West Bengal at 144, Rajasthan at 92, Delhi at 65, Uttar Pradesh at 60 and Andhra Pradesh at 36.
The death toll due to COVID-19 climbed to 35 in Tamil Nadu while Telengana and Karnataka have reported 29 fatalities each due to the disease. Punjab has registered 27 COVID-19 deaths, Jammu and Kashmir eight and Haryana seven.Kerala and Bihar have reported four deaths each.
Jharkhand has recorded three COVID-19 fatalities. Odisha and Himachal Pradesh have reported two deaths each. Meghalaya, Chandigarh, Assam and Uttarakhand have reported one fatality each, according to the ministry data.
According to the health ministry data updated in the morning, the highest number of confirmed cases in the country are from Maharashtra at 16,758 followed by Gujarat at 6,625, Delhi at 5,532, Tamil Nadu at 4,829, Rajasthan at 3,317, Madhya Pradesh at 3,138 and Uttar Pradesh at 2,998.
The number of COVID-19 cases has gone up to 1,777 in Andhra Pradesh and 1,516 in Punjab.It has risen to 1,456 in West Bengal, 1,107 in Telangana, 775 in Jammu and Kashmir, 693 in Karnataka, 594 in Haryana and 542 in Bihar.
Kerala has reported 503 coronavirus cases so far, while Odisha has 185 cases. A total of 127 people have been infected with the virus in Jharkhand and 120 in Chandigarh.
Uttarakhand has reported 61 cases, Chhattisgarh has 59 cases, Assam and Himachal Pradesh have 45 each, Tripura has 43 and Ladakh has registered 41 cases so far.
As many as 33 COVID-19 cases have been reported from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Meghalaya has registered 12 cases, Puducherry has nine, while Goa has seven COVID-19 cases.
Manipur has two cases. Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Dadar and Nagar Haveli have reported a case each. "Our figures are being reconciled with the ICMR," the ministry said on its website.
State-wise distribution is subject to further verification and reconciliation, it said.
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Steel mirrors deployed in Mysuru to discourage public urination
Mysuru (PTI): Fed up with people relieving themselves along roadsides, the Mysuru City Corporation has adopted a unique strategy to curb the practice and promote civic sense by installing reflective steel mirrors along pavements, officials said on Friday.
In what officials described as a first-of-its-kind initiative, the Corporation installed stainless steel sheets with a mirror finish along an 80-metre stretch opposite the Mysuru Suburban Bus Stand.
Officials said the reflective sheets are intended to confront anyone attempting to urinate in public with their own reflection, thereby discouraging the act psychologically.
“The idea is to maintain cleanliness and hygiene, prevent public nuisance, and promote civic sense. It is a simple yet psychological approach that encourages self-awareness through reflection,” officials added.
Soon after the mirrors were installed, videos of the initiative went viral on social media, with many people appreciating the administration’s innovative attempt to address public urination. At the same time, some users pointed out the lack of basic civic sense among people.
Several social media users also suggested that more public toilets, maintained in a hygienic condition, were needed to further discourage open urination.
Explaining how the idea originated, Nitesh Patil, Administrator and Regional Commissioner of the Mysuru City Corporation, told PTI that despite a public toilet being located next to the bus stand, many people continued to urinate in the open.
Even fines and warnings failed to deter them from relieving themselves against vacant compound walls, leaving behind a foul smell.
“One of our engineers came up with this idea, and we decided to implement it. The initiative has received a very positive response from the public, social media, and the press. We are now planning to identify more such locations in the city and install similar reflectors,” he said.
According to him, to ensure that the installation is both effective and visually appealing, LED lighting that switches on along with the streetlights has also been added, causing the stretch to glow at night and enhancing the city’s appearance.
Patil said the initiative had helped create civic awareness while also beautifying the city.
“We want our city to be clean and hygienic. We aspire to become the cleanest city in the country,” he added, recalling that Mysuru secured third place nationally in the Swachh Survekshan Awards 2024–25 last year.
