Highest single-day spike of 10,947 cases in Karnataka
Bengaluru: Karnataka on Wednesday reported its highest single-day spike of over 10,900 COVID-19 cases and 113 fatalities, taking the total number of infections to 6,68,652 and the toll to 9,574.
The day also saw 9,832 patients getting discharged after recovery and the active cases stood at 1,16,153, the health department said.
The number of samples tested in the state crossed the 55 lakh mark. On Wednesday a total of 1,04,348 tests were done, taking the cumulative to 55,24,302.
Out of the 10,947 cases reported on Wednesday, 5,000 were from Bengaluru Urban alone.
The previous biggest single-day spike was recorded on September 29 with 10,453 cases.
Cumulatively 6,68,652 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in the state, which includes 9,574 deaths and 5,42,906 discharges, the department said in its bulletin.
Of the active cases, 1,15,312 patients are stable in isolation at designated hospitals, while 841 are in Intensive Care Units.
Amid a spike in cases, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Thursday will chair a meeting with Deputy Commissioners, Zilla Panchayat CEOs, Police Superintendents and District Health officers of 10 districts that have high positive cases.
Bengaluru Urban recorded 55 of the total of 113 deaths, followed by Mysuru (9), Dakshina Kannada and Uttara Kannada (7), Hassan and Tumakuru (5), Kolar (4), Bagalkote and Ramanagara (3), Bengaluru Rural, Dharwad, Haveri and Udupi (2), and Belagavi, Bidar, Chamarajanagara, Chikkamagaluru, Kalaburagi, Kodagu and Vijayapura (1).
Most of the deceased were either with a history of Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) or Influenza-like illness (ILI), the bulletin said.
Among the districts where new cases were reported, Bengaluru Urban accounted for 5,000, Mysuru 979, Hassan 471, Uttara Kannada 462, Dakshina Kannada 447, Ballari 258, Tumakuru 250, Chitradurga 217, Udupi 209, Mandya 207, followed by others.
Bengaluru Urban topped districts in both positive cases and discharges -- 2,62,241 and 2,00,426.
Mysuru has 39,590 positive cases and Ballari, 33,515.
In recoveries, Mysuru was second at 31,694, followed by Ballari at 30,153.
As many as 48,658 samples were tested on Wednesday, using rapid antigen kits
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NEET student hangs self in Rajasthan's Sikar
Jaipur (PTI): A student preparing for the NEET examination allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in a rented room in Rajasthan's Sikar on Friday, police said.
According to the police, the student allegedly hanged himself from a ceiling fan using his sister's scarf while one sister was attending coaching classes and the other was in the bathroom.
He had appeared in the NEET UG exam 2026, which was cancelled due to paper leak, they said.
Udyog Nagar SHO Rajesh Kumar said that the deceased, identified as Pradeep Meghwal, was a resident of Kanika ki Dhani village in Jhunjhunu's Gudha Gaudji area.
He had been living in a rented room in Sikar's Jaldhari Nagar area with his two sisters while preparing for NEET over the last three years.
His elder sister later found him hanging and informed the landlord and police after bringing him down, officials said.
The SHO said the body was kept at SK Hospital mortuary, and a postmortem had not been conducted.
The student's father, Rajesh Kumar Meghwal, told police that Pradeep's NEET examination had gone well and the family was expecting him to score around 650 marks.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot expressed grief over the incident and linked it to anxiety among students after reports of irregularities and paper leaks in NEET 2026.
Pilot said repeated paper leak incidents and cancellation of examinations were affecting students' mental health and demanded a time-bound investigation and strict action against those responsible.
