COVID-19 India Update May 16: 3,970 New Cases In Last 24 Hours, Tally Rises 85,940

NEW DELHI: The number of coronavirus cases in India rose 85,940 on Saturday morning and the toll reached 2,752, according to the health ministry's latest update. The country reported 3,970 cases and 103 deaths in 24 hours.

About 2,233 patients recovered in the last 24 hours, taking the tally to 30,153.

Maharashtra remains the worst-affected COVID-19 state with 29,100 cases and 1,068 deaths. This is followed by Tamil Nadu (10,108), Gujarat (9,931), Delhi (8,895), Rajasthan (4,727).

Globally, COVID-19 has infected over 45 lakh people and claimed more than 3.07 lakh lives, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker.

Meanwhile, India has surpassed China’s tally of 84,038 cases on Friday. India had 83,072 cases at 7.46pm IST compared to China's 82,933, according to a media report. India is now the 11th most affected nation in the world, but each one of the top-ten have one lakh or more cases. The US tops the charts with more than 14 lakh cases, followed by Russia, UK, Spain, Italy and Brazil with over 2 lakh cases each; and France, Germany, Turkey and Iran having over 1 lakh cases each.

The Finance Ministry in the meantime unveiled the third booster dose, mainly consisting of measures aimed at helping farmers and for reforms in agriculture and allied sectors, of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Rs 20 lakh crore ''special package'' for making India self-reliant in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Modi said the third tranche will help the rural economy and boost farmers'' income.

India has been under a lockdown since March 25, which was initially scheduled to end on April 14 but has got extended twice -- first till May 3 and then till May 17 with some relaxations. A final decision on the fourth phase is expected soon.

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