Covid: India logs record 1,68,912 fresh cases

New Delhi: India hit a new Coronavirus infection record with 1,68,912 new cases, the highest single-day rise so far, taking the total tally of cases to 1,35,27,717, according to the Union Health ministry data updated on Monday.

This puts India ahead of Brazil to record the second-highest number of Covid cases in a day.

According to the Johns Hopkins University (JHU) data, India has overtaken Brazil, which is now at the third spot in the Covid tally with 1,34,82,023 cases. The US has the highest number of cases at 3,11,98,055 while globally 13,61,36,954 cases have been reported.

Union minister Sanjeev Balyan said he has tested positive following which he has isolated himself.

In a tweet on Sunday night, he said: "I got tested for COVID-19 after showing some symptoms while campaigning for West Bengal elections. The report is positive and I have isolated myself."

The national COVID-19 recovery rate has fallen below 90 per cent. The active cases have surpassed the 12-lakh mark while the death toll increased to 1,70,179 with 904 daily new fatalities, the highest since October 18, 2020, the data updated at 8 am showed.

Registering a steady increase for the 33rd day in a row, the active cases have increased to 12,01,009 comprising 8.88 per cent of the total infections, while the recovery rate has further dropped to 89.86 per cent.

The active caseload was at its lowest at 1,35,926 on February 12 and it was at its highest at 10,17,754 on September 18, 2020. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,21,56,529, while the case fatality rate has further dropped to 1.26 per cent, the data stated.

According to the ICMR, 25,78,06,986 samples have been tested up to April 11 with 11,80,136 samples being tested on Sunday. The 904 new fatalities include 349 from Maharashtra, 122 from Chhattisgarh, 67 from Uttar Pradesh, 59 from Punjab, 54 from Gujarat among others.

Ten states — Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan have shown a steep rise in the daily surge accounting for 83.02 per cent of the new infections, the Union Health ministry said on Monday.

Maharashtra has reported the highest daily cases at 63,294. It is followed by Uttar Pradesh with 15,276 while Delhi reported 10,774 new cases. Sixteen states — Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, UP, Karnataka, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, MP, Gujarat, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, Kerala, Telangana, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal are displaying an upward trajectory in daily new cases.

Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Kerala cumulatively account for 70.16 per cent of India's total active cases. Maharashtra alone accounts for 47.22 per cent of the total active caseload of the country.

Ten states account for 89.16 per cent of the new deaths. Maharashtra saw the maximum casualties (349). Chhattisgarh follows with 122 daily deaths.

Meanwhile, people not adhering to Covid-appropriate behaviour and the circulation of highly infectious strains of SARS-COV-2 could be the primary reasons behind the surge in infections in India, AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria said on Monday.

He also warned that if the situation is not reversed, then the galloping infection rate will eventually cause a huge strain on the country's healthcare system. He sought stricter enforcement of Covid-appropriate behaviour on the ground level by the administration and authorities. "Around February, when cases started to decrease, people became lax towards following COVID-appropriate behaviour as they thought the virus had become ineffective. People are taking the disease lightly now. If you go out, you see that marketplaces, restaurants and shopping malls are crowded and full of people and these all are super-spreader events," Guleria said.