COVID-19 death toll rises to 1,886 in India; cases climb to 56,342
New Delhi: The death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 1,886 and the number of cases climbed to 56,342 in the country on Friday, registering an increase of 103 fatalities and 3,390 infections in the last 24 hours, according to the Union Health Ministry.
The number of active COVID-19 cases stood at 37,916. While 16,539 people have recovered, one patient has migrated, it said.
"Thus, around 29.35 per cent patients have recovered so far," a senior health ministry official said. The total cases include 111 foreign nationals.
The total of 103 deaths reported since Thursday morning include 43 in Maharashtra; 29 in Gujarat; eight in Madhya Pradesh; seven in West Bengal; five in Rajasthan; two each in Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh; and one each in Bihar, Delhi, Karnataka, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir.
Of the 1,886 fatalities, Maharashtra tops the tally with 694 fatalities, Gujarat comes second with 425 deaths, followed by Madhya Pradesh at 193, West Bengal at 151, Rajasthan at 97, Delhi at 66, Uttar Pradesh at 62 and Andhra Pradesh at 38.
The death toll reached 37 in Tamil Nadu, 30 in Karnataka while Telengana has reported 29 fatalities due to the respiratory disease. Punjab has registered 28 COVID-19 deaths, Jammu and Kashmir nine, Haryana seven, Bihar five and Kerala four.
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 is from Maharashtra at 17,974 followed by Gujarat at 7,012, Delhi at 5,980, Tamil Nadu at 5,409, Rajasthan at 3,427, Madhya Pradesh at 3,252 and Uttar Pradesh at 3,071.
The number of COVID-19 cases has gone up to 1,847 in Andhra Pradesh and 1,644 in Punjab.
The tally has risen to 1,548 in West Bengal, 1,123 in Telangana, 793 in Jammu and Kashmir, 705 in Karnataka, 625 in Haryana and 550 in Bihar.
Kerala has reported 503 coronavirus cases so far, while Odisha has 219. A total of 135 people have been infected with the virus in Chandigarh and 132 in Jharkhand.
Tripura has reported 65 cases, Uttarakhand has 61, Chhattisgarh has 59, Assam has 54, Himachal Pradesh has 46 and Ladakh has 42.
Thirty-three COVID-19 cases have been reported from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Meghalaya has registered 12 cases, Puducherry has nine, while Goa has seven. Manipur has two cases. Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Dadar and Nagar Haveli have reported one case each.
"Our figures are being reconciled with the ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research)," the ministry said on its website.
State-wise distribution is subject to further verification and reconciliation, it said.
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Money laundering case: HC grants interim medical bail to Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal
Mumbai, May 6: The Bombay High Court on Monday granted interim bail for two months on medical grounds to Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal, who has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case.
A single bench of Justice N J Jamadar said Goyal shall pay a surety of Rs 1 lakh and not leave Mumbai without prior permission from the trial court.
"The applicant (Goyal) shall be released on interim bail for a period of two months. He shall abide by all conditions imposed," the bench said.
The high court also directed Goyal to surrender his passport.
Goyal (75) had sought the interim bail on medical and humanitarian grounds as both he and his wife Anita Goyal are suffering from cancer.
A special court in February refused bail to Goyal but permitted him to be admitted in a private hospital of his choice and seek medical treatment.
Goyal then moved the HC, seeking bail on merits and to be released on interim bail on medical grounds.
Goyal's counsel Harish Salve had urged the court to consider the case on humanitarian grounds.
However, ED's counsel Hiten Venegaonkar opposed the bail and said the agency did not have any problem if Goyal's hospitalisation was extended.
Venegaonkar had submitted that the court may extend Goyal's hospitalisation for a period of four weeks and then call for a fresh medical report to assess his situation.
But Salve said that apart from deteriorating physical health, Goyal's mental health was also not good.
Goyal was arrested by the ED in September 2023 on allegations that he had laundered money and siphoned off loans to the tune of Rs 538.62 crore given to Jet Airways by the Canara Bank.
His wife was arrested in November 2023 when the ED submitted its chargesheet in the case.
She was granted bail by the special court the same day considering her age and medical condition.
