As India continues to reel under the threat of novel coronavirus infection, the total number of COVID-19 patients in the country has surged to 649 on Thursday. With Tamil Nadu witnessing its first coronavirus casualty, the death toll in the country has climbed to 13.

Around 87 fresh cases of COVID-19 infection were reported on Wednesday, taking the total number of active patients in the country to 593. Of these active cases, 602 are Indians and 47 are foreign nationals. A total of 43 patients have been cured so far, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

Maharashtra is the worst affected state with more than 120 coronavirus positive cases. The financial capital of India witnessed three deaths related to COVID-19. With five new patients from the national capital,the total number of coronavirus cases has climbed to 35 in Delhi.

Kerala, which confirmed the first coronavirus case in India,has so far recorded 118 COVID-19 cases. Five people with no travel history tested positive in Indore, taking the total number of cases in Madhya Pradeshto 15. There are 16 positive cases in Haryana which includes 14 foreign nationals.

Goa has confirmed 33 cases so far while Gujarat has 37 coronavirus cases. The number of COVID-19 patients in Karnataka has increasedto 41.

Uttar Pradesh has a total of 37 positive cases, including a foreign national. A 33-year-old resident of Pilibhit tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday. The number of positive case in Telangana has reached 41.Three coronavirus patients were confirmed in Bihar. Chattisgarh and Himachal Pradesh also have three patients. While Ladakh witnessed 13 positive cases,Jammu and Kashmir reported 11 COVID-19 patients. There are four coronaviruspatients in Uttarakhan, nine in West Bengal, seven in Chandigarh and 11 inAndhra Pradesh. Mizoram and Manipur have recorded one COVID-19 case each.

The Centre took several drastic measures to prevent thevirus spread that killed more than 20,000 people worldwide. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a nationwide shutdown in India for three weeks starting from Tuesday midnight. Only the essential services like grocery, medical shops,banks will remain functional. Considering the hardships of the common man,Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman extended the deadline of income tax filing to June 30. Deadline for for filing March, April, May GST returns and composition returns was extended till June 30. Debit card holders can withdrawcash free of charge from any other bank ATMs for the next three months.