New Delhi:
In the highest single-day spike, India reported more than 1.52 lakh new Covid-19 cases on Sunday. This is the fifth consecutive day when more than one lakh cases have been reported in the country. According to the Union Health Ministry, the country recorded 1,52,879 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours. With this, the total number of infections has reached 1,33,58,805 in India.
With 839 new Covid-related deaths in the last 24 hours, the toll in the country has mounted to 1,69,275. Currently, there are 11,08,087 active cases in the country.
As many as 90,584 people were discharged or recovered on Thursday taking the total number of recoveries to 1,20,81,443. The previous high was recorded on Saturday when the country reported 1,45,384 fresh Covid positive cases in a single day.
Five states — Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Kerala — cumulatively account for 70.82 per cent of India's active COVID-19 cases which have breached the 11-lakh mark for the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic. The Union Health Ministry said on Sunday that India's total active caseload has increased to 11,08,087 and it now comprises 8.29 per cent of the country's total infections.
A net increase of 61,456 cases has been recorded in the total active caseload in a span of 24 hours, it said.
The ministry said Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Kerala cumulatively account for 70.82 per cent of India's active COVID-19 cases Maharashtra alone accounts for 48.57 per cent of the total active caseload of the country, the ministry said.
Besides, the ten states of Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan have shown a steep rise in the daily new COVID-19 cases accounting for 80.92 per cent of the new infections reported in a span of 24 hours, the ministry highlighted.
India's daily new cases continue to rise, the ministry said as 1,52,879 new cases of coronavirus infections were registered in a span of 24 hours, the highest single-day rise so far.
Maharashtra has reported the highest daily new cases at 55,411. It is followed by Chhattisgarh with 14,098 while Uttar Pradesh has reported 12,748 new cases.
Sixteen states — Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, Kerala, Tejangana, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal — are displaying an upward trajectory in daily new cases.
Central teams have reported non-adherence of COVID-19 appropriate behaviour in almost all of the 50 most-affected districts in Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Punjab, the Union health ministry said, advising the states to more strictly enforce norms to prevent spread of the coronavirus.
On the basis of feedback from the teams, the ministry has written to the states highlighting the areas of concern, including sub-optimal containment operations and contact tracing, skewed testing and shortage of health workers. Authorities need to work in these areas, it said.
Of the 50 districts most affected by COVID-19, 30 are in Maharashtra, 11 in Chhattisgarh and nine in Punjab, it said.
The active caseload was at its lowest at 1,35,926 on February 12 and at its highest at 10,17,754 on September 18, 2020.
India's cumulative recoveries stand at 1,20,81,443 with 90,584 recoveries being registered in a span of 24 hours.
Daily deaths continue to show an upward trend with 839 fatalities being reported in a span of 24 hours.
Ten states account for 86.41 per cent of the new deaths, the ministry said. Maharashtra saw the maximum casualties (309) and Chhattisgarh followed with 123 daily deaths.
Ten states and UTs have not reported any COVID-19 deaths in a span of 24 hours. These are D&D & D&N, Nagaland, Tripura, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Mizoram, Manipur, Lakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Arunachal Pradesh.
Meanwhile, the cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has crossed 10 crore.
Cumulatively, 10,15,95,147 vaccine doses have been administered through 15,17,963 sessions, as per the provisional report till 7 am, the ministry said.
According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 14,12,047 samples were tested for COVID-19 infection on Saturday. With this, the total samples tested in the country reached 25,66,26,850.
The cumulative number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in India crossed the 10 crore mark and as many as 10,15,95,147 people have been vaccinated against Covid-19 in the country so far.
The four-day-long 'Tika Utsav', a mass Covid-19 vaccine programme, has started in the country on Sunday (Jyotirao Phule's birth anniversary) to April 14 (B R Ambedkar's birth anniversary), following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call for the same From April 2, the government started vaccinating all people above 45 years. India started its vaccination drive on January 16 with priority given to all healthcare and frontline workers in the first phase.
The second phase started on March 1 where doses were administered to people above the age of 60 and those between 45 and 59 years with specific comorbidities.
Meanwhile, as the total number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country crossed the 10 crore-mark, the Union Health Ministry on Saturday said that India is the fastest nation to administer 100 million doses in 85 days.
The US took 89 days to administer 10 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccine, while China took 102 days to do the same, it said.
The Prime Minister's Office also tweeted a chart showing India as the fastest country to reach this vaccination milestone, calling it "strengthening efforts to ensure a healthy and COVID-19 free India".
In terms of the number of daily doses administered globally, India continues to remain at the top with an average of 38,93,288 doses administered per day, the ministry said earlier during the day. The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country stands at 10,12,84,282 as per the provisional report at 7.30 pm, it said.