DW BUREAU / CHANDIGARH PUNJAB ALONG with Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Puducherry and Uttarakhand have reported one fatality each in the last 24 hours. Nationally, the number of active cases stands at 1,55,227, while 1,86,934 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, according to the official figures. Thus, around 52.79 cent patients have recovered so far," an official said. India registered over 10,000 cases for the sixth day in a row. The total number of confirmed cases include foreigners. 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 11,903 deaths, Maharashtra tops the tally with 5,537 fatalities followed by Delhi with 1,837 deaths, Gujarat with 1,533, Tamil Nadu with 528,  West Bengal with 495, Madhya Pradesh with 476, Uttar Pradesh with 417, Rajasthan with 308 and Telangana with 191 deaths.The COVID-19 death toll reached 118 in Haryana, 94 in Karnataka, 88 in Andhra Pradesh, 72 in Punjab, 63 in Jammu and Kashmir, 41 in Bihar, 25 in Uttarakhand, 20 in Kerala and 11 in Odisha. India registered the highest-ever spike of 2,003 COVID-19 fatalities pushing the death toll to 11,903 on Wednesday, while the caseload rose to 3,54,065 with 10,974 new coronavirus infections, according to the Union Health Ministry data. Of the 2,003 new deaths, Maharashtra accounted for the highest 1,409 fatalities taking its COVID-19 death tally to 5,537, while coronavirus deaths in Delhi surged by 437 taking its toll to 1,837, according to the official data updated at 8 am. "The sudden surge in deaths is based on entry of data by the states. Maharashtra and Delhi have reconciled data from previous days," a Health Ministry official said. Besides, Tamil Nadu has reported 49 deaths followed by Gujarat  at 28, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana at 18 each, Madhya Pradesh 11, West Bengal 10, Rajasthan 7, Karnataka 5 and Telangana 4. (editor@dailyworld.in)