Delhi, Bengaluru and Maharashtra on Friday recorded their highest single-day toll from Covid-19 since the pandemic began in January last year.

In the Capital, which has surpassed Mumbai to become the worst-affected city in the country, 348 patients died in a day, taking its overall toll to 13,541. The tally of infections rose to 9,80,679 with 24,331 new infections registered in 24 hours, and the city’s positivity rate is at 32%.

The city has averaged around 23,000 positive cases a day over the past week. This is almost three times higher than ever seen in 2020. Experts have also pointed out that about a quarter of tests have come back positive in the past week, indicating that an increasing fraction of infections are going unrecorded.

The surge in infections has triggered a medical crisis in the city, with hospitals running out beds, medicines and oxygen to treat coronavirus patients. Mass cremations have been taking place as the crematoriums have run out of space.

Maharashtra

Meanwhile, Maharashtra on Friday logged 773 Covid-related deaths in 24 hours for the first time. The worst-hit state reported 66,836 new cases as a ferocious second wave of infections ripped through the country. With this the state’s tally of infections rose to 41,61,676, and the toll went up to 63,252.

However, in some respite, after weeks, Maharashtra recorded more recoveries than new cases on Friday. As many as 74,045 patients were discharged in 24 hours. The total recoveries in the state stood at 34,04,792 at an overall recovery rate of 81.81%.

Maharashtra currently has 6,91,851 active cases, which is the highest in the country. The state’s death rate is 1.52%, according to NDTV.

Bengaluru

The crisis also deepened in Karnataka as its capital Bengaluru on Friday reported a record number of 16,662 Covid-19 cases, pushing the city’s healthcare system to the brink of collapse, NDTV reported.

Residents scrambled to find hospital beds and ventilators as the city recorded 124 deaths in a day, the highest since the pandemic broke out last year. The record number of deaths has resulted in the seven Covid-19 crematoriums of the city working overtime to cremate an average of 20-25 bodies arriving each day, according to The Indian Express.

Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa said the situation in Bengaluru was “out of control” as he ordered a 10-fold increase in intensive care unit beds with ventilator in the city.

At a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with the chief ministers of other states, Yediyurappa also requested the Centre to supply 1,471 tonnes of oxygen and two lakh doses of remdesivir to Karnataka, according to NDTV.