India's COVID-19 death toll mounts to 559; cases stand at 17,656

A health worker scans a resident with an infrared thermometer to check her temperature as a precautionary measure against the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a residential area in New Delhi (Reuters)

New Delhi, April 20 (IANS) The total number of confirmed cases of novel coronavirus in India is at 17,656, with 559 deaths so far, according to data published by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Monday.

Of these 14,255 are active cases of COVID-19, 2,841 individuals have recovered and discharged from hospital, one person migrated to another country and 559 people succumbed to the disease.

Maharashtra remained the worst-hit state with total number of positive cases rising to 4,203, followed by Delhi which reported 2,003 cases and Gujarat which has reported 1,851 cases, according to the Health Ministry data.