India on Thursday recorded 35,871 new COVID-19 cases, the highest single-day rise in over 100 days, which took the infection tally to 1,14,74,605, according to Union health ministry data.
Registering an increase for the eighth consecutive day, the active caseload reached 2,52,364, which accounts for 2.20 per cent of the total infections. The recovery rate further dropped to 96.41 per cent, the data updated at 8 am showed.
The death toll increased to 1,59,216 with 172 new fatalities, it stated.
The single-day spike of 35,871 cases is the highest in 102 days. As many as 36,011 new infections were recorded on December 6.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,10,63,025, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.39 per cent, according to the data.
India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.
According to the Indian Council of Medical Research, 23,03,13,163 samples had been tested up to March 17 with 10,63,379 being tested on Wednesday.
The 172 new fatalities include 84 from Maharashtra, 35 from Punjab and 13 from Kerala.
So far, 1,59,216 deaths have been reported in the country including 53,080 from Maharashtra, 12,564 from Tamil Nadu, 12,407 from Karnataka, 10,948 from Delhi, 10,298 from West Bengal, 8,751 from Uttar Pradesh and 7,186 from Andhra Pradesh.
The health ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.
“Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research,” the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.
2nd Covid peak in sight amid festivals, callous attitude:
With two big festivals — Holi and the Kumbh Mela pilgrimage — around the corner and many people flouting the basic norms, north India, especially Delhi-NCR, is likely to face a super surge in Covid-19 caseloads, health experts warned on Thursday.
India began witnessing massive coronavirus caseloads in March last year which reached its peak across the country in the next 6-8 months. But this time, people have become more complacent amid the vaccination drive even as the “second peak” threat gets bigger.
According to the Health Ministry, Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu continue to report a surge in daily new cases. As many as 79.54 per cent of the new cases are reported from these five states.
Manoj Sharma, Senior Consultant, Internal Medicine, at the Fortis Hospital in Vasant Kunj, New Delhi, said that as soon as vaccination was introduced, there was a rapid surge in cases.
“However, even post-vaccination, it takes approximately six weeks for someone to get immunised and for the desired antibodies to be developed. But when people get vaccinated, they become a little relaxed and start to intermingle more, and this has led to an increase in the number of cases,” Sharma told IANS.
As the number of Covid-19 cases is rising across the country, the Centre has sounded a word of caution for the states. The Central government said that the pandemic seems to be shifting to Tier II and Tier III cities, and closer to the rural areas.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged the chief ministers to act fast against the emerging “second peak” of the pandemic, warning “if we do not stop this now, a country-wide outbreak can occur”.
Maharashtra accounts for 63% of daily Covid-19 cases:
The cases in Maharashtra accounted for 63.21 per cent of the daily new cases, followed by Kerala and Punjab.
The country recorded 35,871 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours.
According to the Health Ministry, Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu continue to report a surge in the COVID daily new cases. 79.54 per cent of the new cases are from these five states.
Maharashtra has reported the highest daily new cases at 16,620, accounting for 63.21 per cent of the daily new cases. It is followed by Kerala with 1,792 while Punjab reported 1,492 new cases.
A rising trajectory of daily new cases is also visible in eight states. These are Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka and Haryana. Kerala is reporting a consistently declining trend over the last one month.