Five states account for 82 per cent of new COVID-19 cases in India

Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu added 82 per cent of the total new cases which were reported in the last 24 hours in the country, the union health ministry informed on Saturday.

According to the health ministry, 18,327 new COVID-19 cases were registered in the last 24 hours, out of which Maharashtra added 10,216, followed by Kerala with 2,776 while Punjab reported 808 new cases.

Meanwhile, eight states are displaying an upward trajectory in daily new cases.

"India's total active caseload has reached 1,80,304 today. India's present active caseload now stands at 1.61 per cent of India's total positive cases," the ministry said.

On the other hand, 21 states and union territories have less than 1,000 active cases. Arunachal Pradesh has only three active cases.

Kerala, Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu have shown a reduction in the active cases in the last 24 hours whereas Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Haryana displayed a rise in the active cases during the same period.

108 deaths were reported in the country in the last 24 hours.

"Six states account for 85.2 per cent of the new deaths. Maharashtra saw the maximum casualties (53). Kerala follows with 16 daily deaths and Punjab reported 11 deaths in the last 24 hours," it said.

Gujarat, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Uttarakhand, Lakshadweep, Puducherry, Assam, Sikkim, Mpur, Ladakh (UT), Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Nagaland, Mizoram, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli have not reported any COVID-19 death in the last 24 hours.

( With inputs from ANI )