Coronavirus and its mutants are spreading quickly in Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh.

These states have recorded an "upsurge" in daily new cases of COVID-19, the Union Health Ministry said on February 20.

In a statement, the ministry said in the last seven days, Chhattisgarh has also seen a rise in daily active new cases. In the last 24 hours, 259 daily new cases have been reported, it said

Kerala continues to report a high number of daily new cases and in the past week, Maharashtra has exhibited a spike in the number of daily new cases, accounting for the highest number of daily new cases in the country on Saturday, the ministry said in the statement

"In the last 24 hours, 6,112 daily new cases have been reported in the state," it said in Maharashtra.