Panaji, Sep 16 (IANS): Goa's overall Covid-19 tally crossed the 26,000-mark on Wednesday, with 628 new cases reported in the state, which has also witnessed 319 deaths of novel coronavirus patients.

The Aam Aadmi Party in the state on Wednesday also condemned the statement of Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, who on Tuesday had blamed late reporting of Covid-19 cases, as the reason behind the increased mortality of Covid-19 patients, 29 of whom died in the state over the last 72 hours.

"We condemn Chief Minister Pramod Sawant's comment blaming the increased mortality rate on Covid-19 patients themselves, for reporting their ailment late to the authorities. The reason for the high mortality rate is the poor health infrastructure when it comes to fighting the pandemic," Goa AAP spokesperson Rahul Mahambre told reporters here.

The AAP also slammed the BJP-led coalition government in Goa, for not upping the Covid-19 testing apparatus, even as Sawant has repeatedly said that Goa, compared to other states, had topped the testing per million ratio. According to Goa Health Ministry statistics, the coastal state has conducted 1,57,606 tests per million.

Goa currently has recorded 26,139 confirmed cases, out of which 5,375 are active. 20,445 Covid-19 patients have recovered from the viral infection, with the state's recovery rate currently pegged at 78.21 per cent according to state Health Ministry data.