Pune, Nagpur, Mumbai, Thane have highest active Covid-19 cases, says health ministry

In Punjab, Jalandhar, SAS Nagar, Hoshiarpur, Patiala, SBS Nagar have contributed maximum to the state's increasing active Covid-19 caseload.

The districts of Pune, Nagpur, Mumbai have over 12,000 active Covid-19 cases each, contributing the maximum to the active caseload tally of the country, which on Tuesday crossed 2.2 lakh. In the last week of February, India's active caseload was below 1.5 lakh.

Vaccination for senior citizens going on at a hospital in Mumbai. (PTI)

According to Union health ministry data released on Tuesday, 77 per cent of the active Covid-19 cases in India in the last 24 hours came from Maharashtra, Punjab and Haryana. Karnataka, which is also seeing a steady spike in daily Covid-19 infections, contributed 3.97 per cent to active cases, while Tamil Nadu contributes 2.30 per cent.

The ministry has given a district-wise break-up of the number of active Covid-19 cases.

Source: Health ministry

With 26,468 active Covid-19 cases, Pune tops the chart, followed by Nagpur (18,114), Mumbai (13,309), Thane (12,680) and Nashik (8,035). About 59 per cent of active cases are from Maharashtra. The numbers of active Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra districts portray a sharp spike in a short span of time. According to the health ministry's March 11 data, Pune had 18,474 active cases, while Mumbai had 9,973 and Nagpur had 12,724.

Kerala's contribution to India's active cases is 12.24 per cent. The top five districts with the maximum caseload are Ernakulam (3,282), Pathanamthitta (2,564), Kannur (2,483), Thrissur (2,299) and Kozhikode (2,205).

In the last few days, Punjab has emerged as a hotspot of Covid-19 infections, with the state reporting over 1,000 infections daily. While the state's contribution to India's active case tally is 5.34 per cent, the worst-hit districts are Jalandhar (1,585), SAS Nagar (1,338), Hoshiarpur (1,301), Patiala (1,201) and SBS Nagar (1,173).