Mumbai, August 18: Maharashtra, the worst-hit state by the coronavirus pandemic in India, now has more COVID-19 cases than South Africa which the fifth most-affected country in the world. According to worldometers.info, South Africa has reported 5,89,886 COVID-19 cases, whereas Maharashtra saw 5,95,865 infections as of Tuesday morning. Maharashtra has also reported 20,037 deaths, while South Africa has recorded 11,982 fatalities so far. Coronavirus Tracker in India.

Of the total 5,95,865 COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 1,55,579 are active cases. On a positive note, 4,28,514 people have recovered so far in the state. Maharashtra recorded 8,493 fresh cases, down from the previous highest of 12,822 till August 8 - both highest in the country - and 228 deaths on Monday. In the first 17 days of August, Maharashtra reported 182,834 cases, or around 10,754 daily. India Records Highest Single-Day COVID-19 Recoveries of 57,937; Positivity Rate Remains Low at 8.81%.

The state recorded first 100,000 cases in 96 days, the second in 22, third in 14, fourth in 11, and the fifth in just 10 days. With 3,38,055 cases and 5,766 deaths, Tamil Nadu is the second worst-hit state after Maharashtra in the country. The southern state is followed by Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. India continues to be the third-worst hit after the US with 5,437,969 cases and 170,491 deaths and Brazil with 3,359,570 infections and 108,536 deaths.

India's coronavirus tally crossed the 27-lakh mark on Tuesday with 55,079 fresh cases in 24 hours, while the death toll surged to 51,797 with 876 more fatalities. The country had touched the 20-lakh mark on August 7 and added more than seven lakh cases in 11 days. Out of the total 27,02,742 cases, 19,77,779 people have recovered so far, with 57,937 more people recuperating in the past 24 hours, taking the recovery rate to nearly 73.17 per cent.

The actual caseload of the country is the active cases, which currently stands at 6,73,166. The silver lining, however, is that the gap between recoveries and active cases is growing every day. Currently, recoveries are over 12 lakh more than the active cases.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 18, 2020 05:21 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).