Rajasthan coronavirus death toll touches 50; 77 new cases take tally to 2,262

Jaipur, Apr 27 () Nine coronavirus patients died on Monday even as Rajasthan recorded 77 fresh cases, taking the state's virus tally to 2,262, an official said.

The state has so far recorded 50 deaths due to the infection, with Jaipur reporting 27 of them.

Jaipur has the highest 833 coronavirus positive cases followed by 375 in Jodhpur.

Rajasthan Health Minister Dr Raghu Sharma on Monday claimed that the percentage of coronavirus cases in the state has decline due to an increase in testing.

"Nine deaths were reported, including six in Jaipur. One death each has been reported from Bharatpur, Karauli and Jodhpur. As many as 77 fresh cases surfaced in different districts of the state, including 25 in Jaipur," Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Rohit Kumar Singh said.

Singh said besides Jaipur, 11 cases were reported from Jodhpur; 10 from Jhalawar; eight from Tonk; seven each in Kota and Chittorgarh; three from Nagaur; two in Bhilwara; and one each from Ajmer, Pali, Udaipur and Jaisalmer.

A total of 2,262 cases have been reported in the state so far, Singh said, adding that 744 patients have tested negative for the infection after treatment, of which 584 have been discharged from hospitals.

Rajasthan Health Minister Dr Raghu Sharma said the percentage of coronavirus cases is going down in the state as over 87,000 samples have been taken for testing so far.

"No state in the country has taken such number of samples yet. This is the reason why the percentage of cases in the state is falling," Sharma said.

He said everyday 3,500 to 5,000 are being taken for testing.

Adequate sampling is being done in the state, which is why the doubling of patients has taken 12 days, which was earlier eight days, Sharma said.

He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has praised efforts of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot in a video conference.

The total number of COVID-19 cases in Rajasthan includes two Italian citizens and 61 people brought from Iran to Army health centres in Jodhpur and Jaisalmer.

The entire state is under lockdown since March 22 and a massive survey and screening is under way to track the people infected with the virus. AG RDKRDK