India on Monday added 14,821 new Covid-19 cases pushing the infection tally to 4,25,282, while the death toll rose to 13,699 with 445 new fatalities, according to Union health ministry data.

The country crossed the four lakh-mark on Sunday eight days after recording three lakh Covid-19 cases and has witnessed a surge of 2,34,747 infections from June 1 till 22.

India registered over 10,000 cases for the 11th day in a row.

The number of recoveries also continued to surge with 2,37,195 patients cured so far, while there were 1,74,387 active cases, according to the updated official figures at 8 am.

One patient has migrated.

In the last 24 hours, a total of 9,440 Covid-19 patients have recovered, taking the recovery rate to 55.77 per cent, officials said.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a cumulative total of 69,50,493 samples have been tested up to 21 June with 1,43,267 samples being tested on Sunday.

Of the 445 fresh fatalities reported till Monday morning, 186 were from Maharashtra, 63 from Delhi, 53 from Tamil Nadu, 43 from Uttar Pradesh, 25 from Gujarat, 15 from West Bengal, 14 from Madhya Pradesh, 12 from Rajasthan, 11 from Haryana, seven from Telangana, five each from Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, two from Odisha, one each from Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Puducherry and Punjab.

India is the fourth worst-hit nation by the pandemic after the US, Brazil and Russia.

According to the Johns Hopkins University, which has been compiling Covid-19 data from all over the world, India is at the eighth position in terms of the death toll.

Of the total 13,699 deaths reported so far, Maharashtra accounted for the highest 6,170 fatalities, followed by Delhi with 2,175 deaths, Gujarat with 1,663, Tamil Nadu with 757, West Bengal with 555, Uttar Pradesh with 550, Madhya Pradesh with 515, Rajasthan with 349 and Telangana with 210 deaths.

The Covid-19 death toll reached 160 in Haryana, 137 in Karnataka, 106 in Andhra Pradesh, 99 in Punjab, 82 in Jammu and Kashmir, 53 in Bihar, 27 in Uttarakhand, 21 in Kerala and 14 in Odisha.

Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh have registered 11 deaths each, Assam nine, Himachal Pradesh and Puducherry eight each, Chandigarh six, while Meghalaya, Tripura and Ladakh have reported one fatality each, according to the health ministry.

More than 70 per cent deaths took place due to comorbidities, it said.

Maharashtra has reported the highest number of cases at 1,32,075, followed by Delhi at 59,746, Tamil Nadu at 59,377, Gujarat at 27,260, Uttar Pradesh at 17,731, Rajasthan at 14,930 and West Bengal at 13,945, according to ministry data.

The number of Covid-19 cases has gone up to 11,903 in Madhya Pradesh, 10,635 in Haryana, 9,150 in Karnataka, 8,999 in Andhra Pradesh and 7,802 in Telangana.

It has risen to 7,612 in Bihar, 5,956 in Jammu and Kashmir, 5,388 in Assam and 5,160 in Odisha. Punjab has reported 4,074 novel coronavirus infections so far, while Kerala has 3,172 cases.

A total of 2,344 people have been infected by the virus in Uttarakhand, 2,275 in Chhattisgarh, 2,073 in Jharkhand, 1,221 in Tripura, 841 in Manipur, 837 in Ladakh, 754 in Goa and 673 in Himachal Pradesh.

Chandigarh has recorded 406 Covid-19 cases, Puducherry has 366 cases, Nagaland has 211, Mizoram has 141 and Arunachal Pradesh has 135.

Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu together have reported 88 Covid-19 cases.

Sikkim has 78, Andaman and Nicobar Islands has registered 48 infections so far while Meghalaya has recorded 44 cases.

"Our figures are being reconciled with the ICMR," the ministry said, adding 7,832 cases are being reassigned to states.

State-wise distribution is subject to further verification and reconciliation, it added.

1st virus death in Goa

An 85-year-old woman, who tested positive for coronavirus earlier, succumbed to the infection on Monday, making it the first case of death due to the viral disease in the state, health minister Vishwajit Rane said.

The woman, belonging to Morlem village in North Goa district, was undergoing treatment at the ESI hospital, a designated facility for Covid-19 patients, he said.

The state government has already declared Morlem village, which falls under Valpoi, the Assembly constituency of Rane, as a Covid-19 containment zone.

"Today, an 85-year-old woman from Morlem village died. This is the first Covid-19 death in the state. My condolences to the family," Rane told reporters.

He said the state government was following all the latest protocols to keep Goa safe.

Report overcharging, BMC asks citizens

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has appealed to citizens to bring to its notice if they have been overcharged by private hospitals for the treatment of Covid-19.

The civic body last month appointed auditors for various private hospitals after receiving complaints of overcharging by some facilities for coronavirus treatment.

Since then, the auditors have settled 134 complaints pertaining to 26 private hospitals and bill amounts have been collectively reduced by Rs 23.42 lakh, the BMC said in a statement.

The total amount charged from all the complainants was Rs 1,61,88,819. After the audit of these bills, the amount was reduced to Rs 1,38,46,705, it said.

To ensure private hospitals charge bills as per the government rates, the BMC said it has appointed two auditors for every private hospital, and also made available to the public some e-mail IDs for registering complaints.