Maharashtra and Punjab are the two worst hit states in terms of their share in the total number of new cases and fatalities across the country in the last fortnight, according to official documents.
The two states also top the charts among states or UTs that have crossed their ever-reported peaks for new cases and are followed by Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat in the top-five, shows a presentation made by the Union Health Ministry during the last review meeting held by the Cabinet Secretary with all states and union territories.
The growth rate of last seven days for daily new cases till March 23 in Maharashtra was 3.6 per cent and in Punjab it was 3.2 per cent.