Union Minister of State for Railways Suresh Angadi passed away on Wednesday after being hospitalised with Covid-19 infection.
Angadi had tested positive for Covid-19 on 11 September and was initially asymptomatic. Announcing his diagnosis on Twitter, the minister had said he was “doing fine”. The BJP MP was later admitted to the dedicated Covid-19 facility at the AIIMS Trauma Centre where he passed away at 8 pm on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed condolences and said Angadi was an exceptional worker who made the party strong in Karnataka. “Suresh Angadi was an exceptional karyakarta, who worked hard to make the party strong in Karnataka. He was a dedicated MP and effective Minister, admired across the spectrum. His demise is saddening. My thoughts are with his family and friends in this sad hour. Om Shanti,” PM Modi said in a tweet.
Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad also expressed his condolences. “Deeply saddened to hear about the untimely demise of Suresh Angadi, MoS Railways who succumbed to Covid. Heartfelt condolences to his family. I pray to Almighty that his soul rests in peace.
With this, India’s death toll has crossed the 90,000 mark. The country also reported its lowest daily tally of coronavirus cases in almost a month in the last 24 hours. India is now preparing for clinical trials of a potential Russian vaccine in the next few weeks.
The country’s Covid-19 tally crossed the 56-lakh mark with a spike of 83,347 new cases and 1,085 deaths in the last 24 hours. The total case tally now stands at 5,646,011 including 9,68,377 active cases.
The number of people who have cured, discharged or migrated is 45,87,614, while the total number of fatalities has risen to 90,020. Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have reported the highest number of cases. Maharashtra which is the worst affected state recorded 21,029 cases which took the overall tally to 12,63,799. With 479 Covid-19 patients dying in the last 24 hours, the death count reached 33,886.
On the other hand, 19,476 patients were discharged, taking the number of recoveries in the state to 9,56,030. There are now 2,73,477 active cases in Maharashtra. Delhi reported 3,714 new Covid-19 cases, 4,465 recoveries and 36 deaths in the last 24 hours, taking total cases to 2,56,789 including 2,20,866 recoveries and 5,087 deaths. Number of active cases stands at 30,836. The state of Uttar Pradesh reported 87 Covid-19 deaths in the last 24 hours, the death count due to the disease climbed to 5,299, while the total number of people discharged after treatment crossed the 3 lakh-mark in the state. As many as 5,234 fresh coronavirus cases were reported in the state, taking the infection tally to 3,69,686.
Punjab reported 2,123 new Covid-19 cases, 2,117 recoveries and 64 deaths in the last 24 hours, taking total cases to 1,03,464 including 79,244 discharges, 2,990 deaths and 21,230 active cases. In Haryana, 27 more people died in the last 24 hours as 1,986 fresh cases took the state›s infection tally to 1,16,856. So far, the disease has claimed 1,233 lives in the state. Rajasthan reported 1,946 new Covid-19 cases, 1,553 recoveries and 15 deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of positive cases in the state to 1,20,739 till date, including 18,992 active cases, 98,986 discharged cases and 1,382 deaths.
Jammu and Kashmir reported 1249 new Covid-19 cases and 2796 recoveries in the last 24 hours, taking the total tally in the union territory to 67,510, including 46,530 recoveries and 1062 deaths. Active cases now stand at 19,918. Coronavirus surge in India’s southern states continued to rise with Tamil Nadu recording 5,325 new Covid-19 cases, 5,363 discharges and 63 deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of positive cases to 5,57,999 till date, including 5,02,740 discharged cases, 46,350 active cases and 9,010 deaths.
Andhra Pradesh reported 7,228 new Covid-19 cases, 8,291 recoveries & 45 deaths in the last 24 hours, taking total positive cases in the state to 6,46,530 till date, including 5,70,667 recoveries, 70,357 active cases and 5,506 deaths.
Karnataka reported 6,997 new Covid-19 cases, 5,460 discharges and 38 deaths in the last 24 hours. The total number of cases in the state now stands at 5,40,847 including 94,652 active cases, 4,37,910 discharges and 8,266 deaths. 8033 new cases were reported in Bengaluru Rural. Kerala›s Covid-19 cases saw the highest single day surge with 5,376 new cases in the last 24 hours, taking the infection tally to 1,47,132 while the death count soared to 592 with 20 deaths. So far, 1,04,682 people have recovered from the infection.