COVID-19: Madhya Pradesh reports 41 fresh cases; death toll up to 15

With 41 fresh cases reported in Madhya Pradesh, half of them from Bhopal, during the last 24 hours, the COVID-19 tally went up to 256 on Monday, while the death count has increased to 15, health officials said.

Among the new cases, Bhopal recorded the highest number - at 21 - since Sunday evening, taking the count of COVID-19 patients in the state capital to 61, a health department bulletin said here.

The new cases from Bhopal include health officials and police personnel engaged in fighting the viral disease, officials said.

Of the 256 cases, 151 are from Indore, the commercial capital of the state. In the past 24 hours, 16 fresh cases of coronavirus were reported from Indore, the officials said.

The death toll now stood at 15 with the addition of two fatalities.

A 52-year-old man died of coronavirus in Bhopal on Sunday night - the first fatality in the state capital - while a 54-year-old man, who succumbed three days ago at a private hospital in Indore, tested positive for the infection on Monday, they said.

With COVID-19-infected persons found in two more districts on Monday, the pandemic has now spread to 12 districts of the state.

On Monday, one each coronavirus positive person was found in Sironj town of Vidisha district and Bhainsdehi in Betul district, the officials said.

In both the cases, the infected persons have connection with the Tablighi Jamaat, whose religious gathering last month in Nizamuddin in Delhi emerged as a hotspot for COVID-19 spread in the country, they said.

The COVID-19 patient found in Betul was part of a 'jamaat' (religious preaching group) in Nagpur and returned to the district on March 31, the officials said.

Similarly, the infected person in Vidisha district was part of a 'jamaat' and returned from Assam last month, the officials said.

Meanwhile, certain areas in Bhainsdehi and Sironj have been declared as containment zones by the respective district authorities as part of efforts to halt the spread of the deadly disease.

The 54-year-old man who died in Indore was admitted to a private hospital on April 1 with complaints of breathlessness, cough and fever, the officials said.

His samples were taken for testing, but he died on April 3 during treatment, they said, adding the man suffered from pre-existing illnesses asthma and hypertension.

"His test report was not received at the time of his death. In the report received now, he has tested positive for COVID-19," the officials said.

Among the 15 COVID-19 fatalities reported so far, Indore accounts for 10, Ujjain (2) and Khargone, Chhindwara and Bhopal (one each).

As per the health bulletin, the maximum number of COVID-19 cases - 151 - have been reported from Indore, followed by Bhopal (61), Morena (12), Jabalpur (8), Ujjain (8), Khargone (4), Barwani (3), two each in Chhindwara, Shivpuri and Gwalior, one each in Betul and Vidisha districts.

One coronavirus positive patient hails from outside Madhya Pradesh, it said, adding the total number of affected persons in the state currently stood at 256.

Meanwhile, 11 more persons were discharged from hospitals in Indore following their recovery from the deadly virus, taking the number of such people to 18, the officials said.

The health bulletin said among the active cases, 208 patients are stable, while 23 are in serious condition.

During the past one week, two IAS officers posted in the health department have tested positive for coronavirus.