India reported 1,68,912 new cases of the coronavirus on Monday, as the country witnessed another highest single-day count, data from the health ministry showed. The country’s overall tally of infections since the pandemic broke out last March rose to 1,35,27,717. With this, India now has the second-highest number of infections globally, just behind the United States.

The toll went up to 1,70,179 with 904 more deaths in the last day. India’s tally of active cases stood at 12,01,009. The number rose by nearly a lakh from Sunday’s tally of 11.08 lakh.

More than 10.20 crore vaccine doses have been administered so far. Nearly 30 lakh vaccines were administered on Sunday, the first day of “tika utsav”, a four-day vaccination festival.

Source: MOHFW

The rise in cases came as the spread of the infection continued unabated in major hotspots such as Delhi and Maharashtra. The national Capital reported over 10,000 cases for the first time on Sunday. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said he was not in favour of a lockdown, but warned that the government might have to impose the restriction if the number of beds and other health infrastructure in the city came under stress.

Maharashtra also reported the highest-ever single-day increase in cases as the tally rose by over 63,000. As many as 16 states were showing an upward trend in the number of cases, with six of them getting added to the list in the last 10 days, the Hindustan Times reported.

Meanwhile, a central team that visited three of the worst-affected states of Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Punjab flagged problems such as inadequate RT-PCR tests, lack of containment measures and contact tracing operations, and a general shortage of healthcare workers, even as hospitals were inundated with new patients.

In a statement, the Union health ministry said that 10 states – Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan – have shown an increase in daily Covid-19 cases. These states account for 83.02% of the new cases reported across the country.

On Monday, Maharashtra remained the worst-affected state with 63,294 new cases, followed by Uttar Pradesh with 15,276 infections and Delhi with 10,774.

Press Information Bureau

As of Monday, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Kerala accounted for 70.16% of India’s total active cases. Maharashtra alone accounted for 47.22% of the total active caseload.

Ten states – Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Gujarat, Delhi, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Jharkhand – reported 81.96% deaths registered in the last day.

Nine states and Union Territories did not report any new fatalities. These are Odisha, Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Lakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Arunachal Pradesh.

State updates

  1. The Gujarat High Court on Sunday initiated a suo motu petition on the pandemic situation, observing that media reports suggested that the state was heading towards a “health emergency of sorts”, PTI reported.
  2. Mumbai civic body, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has said that the vaccination drive will resume at 62 of the 71 designated private hospitals in the city from Monday, PTI reported. Private vaccination centres in the city had to be shut on Saturday due to shortage of vaccines. 
  3. Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will hold a meeting on Monday on the prevailing coronavirus situation in the state, the Hindustan Times reported. The prospect of imposing a lockdown is likely to be discussed in the meeting.
  4. The Himachal Pradesh government on Sunday announced it will issue a directive asking people travelling to the state from Punjab, Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh to carry a negative RT-PCR Covid-19 test report after April 16, the Hindustan Times reported.

Global scenario

  1. Globally, the coronavirus has infected more than 13.58 crore people and killed 29,35,457, according to the Johns Hopkins University. More than 7.73 crore people have recovered from the infection.  
  2. Director of the Chinese Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Sunday said that the country was formally considering mixing Covid-19 shots as a way of further boosting vaccine efficacy, Reuters reported.