India on Thursday saw a sligh dip in the number of fresh Covid-19 infections with 43,509 new corona cases recorded in the last 24 hours, as per the health ministry's updated data.
On the other hand, the number of deaths saw a spike breaching the 500-mark with 640 Covid fatalities on Thursday.
The top five states which have registered the maximum cases in the latest spike are Kerala with 22,056 cases, followed by Maharashtra with 6,857 cases, Andhra Pradesh with 2,010 cases, Tamil Nadu with 1,756 cases and Odisha with 1,703 cases.
79.02% of the new Covid cases have been reported from these five states, with Kerala alone responsible for 50.69% of the new cases.
Following the alarming surge in fresh covid cases in Kerala, the state government on Thursday announced that a complete lockdown will be imposed in Kerala on 31st July and 1st August.
The central government is also sending a six-member team from the National Centre for Disease Control to the state.
"As a large number of Covid cases are still being reported in Kerala, the team will aid the state's ongoing efforts in Covid management," said Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya.
Among the 640 deaths, the maximum casualties have been reported from Maharashtra (286), followed by Kerala with 131 deaths.
India's active caseload now stands at 4,03,840. In the last 24 hours, the number of active Covid-19 cases increased by 4,404.
On the other hand, the country has administered a total of 43,92,697 doses in the last 24 hours, which brings the total tally of doses administered to 45,07,06,257.
Meanwhile, a serosurvey conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has revealed that at least two-thirds of the population in 11 states have developed coronavirus antibodies.
Madhya Pradesh leads the chart with 79 per cent seroprevalence while Kerala is at the bottom with 44.4 per cent. Seroprevalence in Assam is 50.3 per cent and Maharashtra 58 per cent, the findings of the survey done between June 14 and July 6 revealed.
The national COVID-19 recovery rate, meanwhile, was recorded at 97.38 per cent. In a worrying sign, the number of recoveries was less than the number of new infections. The morning health bulletin said that 38,465 Indians were cured of Covid-19 as of 8 am today. After the dip, the active caseload increased marginally to 4,03,840.