Bengaluru: Karnataka recorded a biggest single-day spike of 248 COVID-19 cases with returnees from Maharashtra continuing to add to the state's tally, taking the virus to count to 2,781 on Friday.

One casualty was reported and with this, the COVID-19 death toll has gone up to 48, the health department said.

A whopping 208 out of the fresh cases are returnees from Maharashtra.

The previous biggest single-day spike was recorded on May 23 with 216 cases, when the state had breached the 200-mark for the first time, in terms of the number of positive cases per day.

As of May 29 evening, cumulatively 2,781 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in the state, which includes 48 deaths and 894 discharges, the health department said in its bulletin.

It said out of 1,837 active cases, 1,822 patients are in isolation at designated hospitals and are stable, while 15 are in ICU.

According to the bulletin,60 patients have been discharged today.

A 50-year-old woman from Chikkaballapura became the 48th COVID-19 related fatality in the state.

The deceased woman, a road traffic accident victim with a head injury, was admitted to a private hospital on May 24 and because of acute kidney injury and pneumonia, the patient was shifted to designated hospital, Bengaluru on May 28.

She tested positive for COVID-19 and succumbed to the virus today.

Other than returnees from Maharashtra, the 248 cases include- eight each who have come from Delhi and Rajasthan, and one each from Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu, while one is with international travel history from Ireland.

Remaining cases include- seven who are contacts of patients earlier tested positive, three with a history of influenza-like illness, and one each with a history of severe acute respiratory infection and a containment zone. The contact history of eight others are still being traced.

Among the districts where the new cases were reported, Raichur accounted for 62, followed by Kalaburagi 61, Yadgir 60, Udupi 15, Bengaluru urban 12, Ballari nine, Chikkaballapura five, four each from Davangere, Hassan and Vijayapura, two each from Mandya, Mysuru, Tumakuru and Chikkamagaluru, and one each from Dharwad, Chitradurga, Shivamogga and Bengaluru rural.

Bengaluru Urban district still tops the list of positive cases, with a total of 303 infections, followed by Mandya 257 and Kalaburagi 251.

Among discharges too Bengaluru urban tops the list with a total of 151 discharges, followed by Belagavi 92 and Mysuru 89.

A total of 2,64,489 samples have been tested, of which 12,411 were tested on Friday alone.

According to the bulletin, 2,58,130 samples have reported as negative, 12,015 alone on Friday.

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Chennai: Actor-politician Vijay has reportedly not been invited to take oath as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu after failing to demonstrate support from the required number of MLAs, sources in Raj Bhavan said.

According to media reports that quoted sources in the office of R.N. Ravi Arlekar, Vijay could not prove the backing of 118 legislators, the majority mark in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly.

Despite last-minute efforts to secure support from the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazagam (AMMK), and an IUML legislator, Vijay reportedly managed support from only 116 MLAs, falling short by two members.

Sources said Vijay failed to submit letters of support from the VCK and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML).

Later, the IUML issued a statement clarifying that it was not part of the TVK-led alliance.

Meanwhile, AMMK leader T.T.V. Dhinakaran is also said to have informed the Governor that his party would support the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) instead.

Earlier in the evening, Vijay had met Governor Arlekar and staked claim to form the government, stating that he enjoyed the support of 118 MLAs.