Mumbai: Maharashtra - India's most industrialised state that is also home to the country's financial and entertainment capital - saw its COVID-19 tally crossing the 50K mark with the highest single-day infections of 3,041 patients catapulting the number of cases to 50,231, besides 58 deaths, health officials said. This comes to roughly one death every 25 minutes, and a staggering average 127 new cases recorded every hour in the state.

The state has been recording over 50 fatalities and over 2,000 new patients for the past one week now, with the previous highest figure standing at 2,940 cases on May 22.

With 58 fatalities -- down by 18 from highest 76 notched on May 19 -- the state death toll has touched 1,635.

The Health Department said with the new cases, 33,988 were 'active cases'.

Of the total 58 fatalities, 39 were recorded in Mumbai alone, taking the city deaths up from 949 to 988 now, while the number of COVID-19 positive patients here shot up by 1,725 cases to touch 30,542.

Mumbai's congested Dharavi slum continued to be a major hotspot with 27 new cases on Sunday, taking the total number of infectees to 1,541 and 59 deaths till date. In a new initiative, the civic authorities are experimenting with group 'laughter therapy' for the people of Dharavi in a bid to ease stress and anxiety levels in the crowded slum district, now largely in containment.

Besides Mumbai's 39 deaths, there were six each in Pune and Solapur, four in Aurangabad, two in Thane (Thane City and Mira-Bhayander) and one in Latur.

They comprised 34 men and 24 women, and nearly 67 per cent of them suffered from other serious ailments such as diabetes, hypertension, heart problems and asthma.

On the positive side, 1,196 fully cured patients returned home on Sunday, taking the number of those discharged to 14,600.

Addressing the state on Sunday, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has warned of cases spiking in the next few days besides hinting at an extension of the lockdown 4.0 and flight restrictions.

Top leaders including Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Thackeray, Congress state President Balasaheb Thorat, Nationalist Congress Party spokesperson Nawab Malik and others greeted the Muslim community on Eid on Monday and urged them to celebrate the festival at home amid coronavirus safeguards (IANS)