India on Friday registered 59,118 new coronavirus cases, taking the country’s overall count to 1,18,46,652, data from the Union health ministry showed. This is the first time since October 17 that more than 59,000 new infections were recorded in a day, according to the Hindustan Times. With 257 deaths, the toll rose to 1,60,949.

There are 4,21,066 active cases and 1,12,64,637 people have recovered from the infection so far. The 4-lakh active infection mark was breached on Friday as the number of positive cases increased for 16 straight days, according to NDTV. India has administered 5,55,04,440 Covid-19 doses so far, with 23,58,731 shots given on Thursday alone.

Ministry of Health

The health ministry said that Maharashtra, Kerala and Punjab account for 73.64% of the total active cases. The ministry also pointed out that five states – Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat – have reported a high increase in coronavirus cases.

Maharashtra, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka also accounted for 78.6% of the total fatalities. “Fourteen States/UTs have not reported any Covid-19 deaths in the last 24 hours,” the statement said. “These are Rajasthan, J&K [Jammu and Kashmir], Jharkhand, Odisha, Puducherry, Lakshadweep, Sikkim, D&D & D&N [Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli], Ladakh, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram, A&N [Andaman and Nicobar] Islands and Arunachal Pradesh.”

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

On vaccinations, the ministry said eight states – Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, West Bengal, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan and Maharashtra– accounted for 60% of the cumulative vaccination coverage across the country.

The Centre on Thursday clarified that India will continue to supply Covid-19 vaccines to other countries, though the rollout will be in a phased manner, with the delivery schedules dependent on domestic requirements, the Hindustan Times reported, quoting unidentified officials.

This came a day following reports that India would temporarily halt all exports of vaccines, in view of the renewed surge of infections in the country.

“We had said that keeping in view domestic requirements, India will continue to supply Covid-19 vaccines to partner countries over the coming weeks and months in a phased manner, this position remains unchanged,” an official told the newspaper. “We have not imposed any ban on exports of vaccines unlike many other countries.”

Central government officials also maintained that the country had adequate doses for now, and that more supplies were expected to be shipped within the next week.

As states pander for more doses to inoculate their citizens, data from the health ministry showed that only 5.4 crore of the roughly 8 crore of coronavirus vaccines distributed till now across the country have been utilised as of 8 pm on Thursday, the newspaper reported.

States updates

  1. At least ten people were killed on Friday after a fire broke out at a Covid hospital located inside a Mumbai mall. Over 70 coronavirus patients had to be evacuated from the Dreams Mall Sunrise Hospital.
  2. The Raipur district administration banned the entry of people at tourist spots and prohibited religious, social, political and other gatherings to contain the spread of Covid-19, the Hindustan Times reported. The new restrictions came amid a sharp rise in cases in Chhattisgarh over the last 11 days, with the state recording 2,419 Covid-19 infections on Thursday, its highest in four months. 
  3. The Wardha district administration in Maharashtra imposed a 60-hour lockdown beginning from March 27, the newspaper reported. The district has been reporting at least 200 positive cases daily for the last two weeks. 
  4. Maharashtra on Thursday registered 35,952 new coronavirus cases – its highest one-day count since the beginning of the pandemic. The state recorded 111 deaths in the 24 hours.The state’s tally rose to 26,00,833, while the toll went up to 53,795. 

Global scenario

  1. Globally, the coronavirus has infected more than 12.54 crore people and killed over 27.54 lakh, according to the Johns Hopkins University. Over 7.10 crore people have recovered from the infection in the world.
  2. British lawmakers extended the coronavirus emergency measures in the United Kingdom for six months, AP reported. The House of Commons voted to extend the powers until September, and approved the government’s road map for gradually easing Britain’s strict coronavirus lockdown over the next three months.
  3. The toll in Mexico reached a grim milestone of 2,00,000 on Thursday, making the country the third worst-affected in terms of Covid deaths after the United States and Brazil, Reuters reported.