The number of cases of Covid-19 is rising rapidly in Madhya Pradesh, and leading the tally is Indore, which is one of the worst-affected districts in the country.

The total number of Covid-19 cases in Indore alone reached 842, with 298 cases being reported between Wednesday and Thursday, according to news agency ANI which quoted state health officials.

With this, the deadly Sars-CoV-2 virus has expanded its fotprint to 26 out of 52 districts in Madhya Pradesh.

For Indore, there was more scare as currency notes worth Rs 6,480 were found scattered on the street in the city’s Hira Nagar area, reported ANI.

Soon after receiving the information on Wednesday, Station House Officer (SHO), Hira Nagar, Rajeev Singh Bhadoria seized the currency notes after getting them sanitised. There is a fear that this was done deliberately to spread the deadly virus.

“Someone’s currency notes might have fallen or maybe someone has intentionally thrown them. The investigation is underway,” said Bhadoria.

With 361 persons testing positive on Thursday, the number of coronavirus cases in Madhya Pradesh climbed to 1,299, news agency PTI reported quoting state health officials.

The disease has claimed the lives of 63 people in the state, according to state health officials. Of these, 47 are in Indore alone.

In state capital Bhopal, 29 more cases were reported, which took the tally of Covid-19 positive patients in the city to 196, officials said.

With 17 more persons testing positive for Covid-19 on Thursday, the number of cases in Khandwa has gone up to 33, fourth highest in state after Indore, Bhopal and Khargone, said health officials.

So far, 65 patients have recovered and returned home, the officials said.

The health officials also said that 405 containment areas have been declared across the affected cities in the state.