India on Wednesday registered 53,480 new coronavirus cases, taking its tally to 1,21,49,335, data from the health ministry showed. With 354 deaths, the toll climbed to 1,62,468.

There are 5,52,566 active cases and 1,14,34,301 people have so far recovered from the infection. Active cases account for 4.55% of India’s total infections. As many as 6,30,54,353 coronavirus doses have been administered so far, with 19,40,999 shots given on Tuesday.

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

India is witnessing a surge in coronavirus cases. The health ministry said that Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh accounted for 84.73% of the new cases registered in the last day.

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Punjab and Chhattisgarh also made up for 79.30% of the total active cases in India, the government said. “Maharashtra leads with more than 61% of the active caseload of the country,” it added.

With an aim to curb the spread of the infection, the Centre on Tuesday wrote to states and Union Territories, asking them to rope in elected representatives and religious leaders to ensure coronavirus-appropriate behaviour.

The Union health ministry has warned against complacency, saying the coronavirus situation has “gone from bad to worse” over the last few weeks.

Six states accounted for 82% of the deaths recorded in the country in the last day. Meanwhile, fourteen states and union territories did not record any deaths in the last 24 hours.

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

State updates

  • Maharashtra reported 27,918 new cases of coronavirus on Tuesday, as the state’s tally went up to 27,73,436. The toll rose to 54,422 with 139 deaths in the last 24 hours. There were as many as 3,40,542 active cases in the state.
  • Delhi recorded 992 new coronavirus cases, taking the tally in the national Capital to 6,60,611. The city witnessed a sharp decline in daily count from Monday’s 1,904 new Covid-19 cases, which was the highest one-jump since mid-December.
  • The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has taken over 69 nursing homes as demands for beds have increased in the city amid a surge in coronavirus cases.
  • The Uttarakhand government has made it mandatory to carry negative coronavirus test reports for passengers travelling from 12 states in the country ahead of the Kumbh Mela in Haridwar on April 1, reported NDTV. The states are Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Rajasthan.
  • Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has said that the number of beds reserved for coronavirus patients is being increased at a few hospitals in view of the surge in cases in the national Capital, reported PTI.

Global news

  • Globally, the coronavirus has infected 12,81,44,389 people and killed 28,02,066, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker. As many as 7,26,76,421 have recovered from the disease.  
  • Pakistan President Dr Arif Alvi and Defence Minister Pervez Khattak have tested positive for the coronavirus, days after Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife contracted the infection, reported PTI.  
  • World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for a deeper investigation into whether the coronavirus leaked from a lab, despite a joint study by WHO and China saying that it was “extremely unlikely”, AFP reported.
  • The United States, Australia and several other countries raised concerns about the WHO report, saying that the experts who visited China to investigate the origins of the pandemic “lacked access to complete, original data and samples”, according to AFP.