Raipur, Sep 4 (PTI) With 1,688 new COVID-19 cases and 19 deaths, Chhattisgarh's overall count of patients rose to 39,723 and toll to 334 on Friday, a health official said.

The day saw discharge of 658 patients after recovery from the infection, taking the number recoveries to 19,608, he said.

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The state now has 19,781 active cases.

For the first time since the beginning of the outbreak in March, the number of active cases in the state exceeded that of discharged patients, he said.

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Raipur district, the worst-hit by the pandemic in the state with 567 of the fresh cases, Bilaspur with 268 cases and Durg with 165 cases are the biggest contributors to the tally.

Other districts where new cases were reported are Kabirdham (82), Raigarh (82), Balod (78), Janjgir-Champa (72), Rajnandgaon (70), Jashpur (45), Dhamtari (38), Surguja (35), Mahasamund (34), Gariaband (24), Narayanpur (24), Bastar (23), Kondagaon (19) and Balrampur (14), he said.

Twelve cases each were recorded in Bemetara and Korba districts, nine in Koriya, eight in Bijapur and three in Balodabazar, while four people who had arrived from other states to Chhattisgarh, have tested positive, he said.

"Of the 19 fatalities, three patients diedon Friday and eight on Thursday, while five deaths occurred on September 1 and three on September 2," he said.

The state has recorded over 29,500 cases and 265 deaths just in the last one month, he said.

With a total of 14,325 cases, Raipur district tops the tally. The district has reported 177 deaths.

Chhattisgarh's COVID-19 figures are as follows: Positive cases 39,723, new cases 1,168, deaths 334, discharged 19,608, active cases 19,781, people tested so far 6,34,702.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)