India recorded 62,714 new coronavirus cases on Sunday morning in its sharpest one-day spike in nearly five months, as per the Health Ministry data. The fresh infections have taken the total Covid tally in the country to 1.19 crore as India registers a steady increase in cases for the 18th day in a row. The last recorded biggest spike was registered on 16 October when 63,371 cases were reported. With 312 deaths, the highest surge in nearly three months, the total number of fatalities due to the deadly disease stands at 1,61,552.
Maharashtra on Sunday recorded 40,414 Covid-19 cases and 108 fatalities in the last 24 hours, according to the figures released by the state health department. Amid rising cases, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday directed the administration to plan strategies for a smooth implementation of a lockdown in the days to come.
The Chief Minister also said that the cases are rising because people are not following guidelines seriously, thereby necessitating steps like lockdown. During the meeting, he also reviewed health infrastructure including the availability of beds, oxygen, and medicines etc. in the state to treat Covid-19 patients.
“Plan for lockdown if there is no adherence to restrictions,” said Thackeray, pointing out that while the government is putting up a fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, several stakeholders do not seem to take the situation seriously.
Mumbai recorded the biggest single-day spike in new coronavirus cases on Sunday with over 6,900 new coronavirus cases. The city reported eight deaths and 6923 new cases.
Gujarat’s tally crossed the 3-lakh mark and reached 3,00,866 with the addition of 2,270 fresh Covid-19 cases, said the state health department. With the death of eight more patients, the overall fatality count in the state rose to 4,492, it added.
Uttar Pradesh reported 1,446 new coronavirus cases and 367 individuals were discharged. With three more deaths added, the total death toll is 8,786. The total active cases currently are at 7,692.
Rajasthan reported 1,081 Covid-19 cases which took the tally to 3,30,676 while two more fatalities pushed the death toll to 2,813, as per an official report. The new cases include 209 in Jaipur, 172 in Jodhpur, 98 in Kota, 89 in Udaipur, and 65 in Ajmer, it said.
Delhi reported over 1,800 coronavirus cases, the highest in around three-and-half months, while the positivity rate rose to 2.35%, said the Health Department. Nine more people succumbed to the disease, taking the toll to 11,006, it said. The 1,881 new infections pushed the tally to 6,57,715 while over 6.39 lakh patients have recovered from the virus.
Kerala recorded 2,216 fresh Covid-19 cases including 23 health workers, pushing the total infection count to 11.17 lakh. As many as 1,853 people have been cured of the infection, taking the total recoveries to 10,88,522 as the active cases touched 24,582.
Nagaland’s tally rose to 12,230 as one more person tested positive for the infection, said a health official. One more person has recovered from the disease, said Health Department Director Dr Denis Hangsing. There are five active coronavirus cases while 11,980 people have recovered from the disease.
The death toll in Punjab rose to 6,690 with 69 more fatalities while 2,963 fresh Covid-19 cases took the infection tally to 2,31,734, as per a medical bulletin. The number of active cases increased to 23,917 on Sunday from 23,271 the previous day, it said.
Andhra Pradesh reported 1,005 fresh coronavirus cases, the highest single-day rise after 26 November, pushing the cumulative count up to 8,98,815. There are 5,394 active cases, the highest number since the 5,259 on 9 December.
Karnataka recorded 3,082 new Covid-19 cases, 1285 recoveries, and 12 deaths. The cumulative case count stands at 9,87,012 while the death toll has climbed up to 12,504. There are 23,037 active cases.
Odisha’s cases climbed up to 3,40,194 as 290 more people, including 10 students of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Bhubaneswar, tested positive for the virus, said an official.