India reported 89,129 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, the highest single-day spike since September 2020, taking the total tally to 1,23,92,260, informed the union health ministry on Saturday. The country has been recording an unabated spike in cases from over three weeks.
The active cases have now increased to 6,58,909 comprising 5.32 per cent of the total infections, while the recovery rate has further dropped to 93.36 per cent. With 714 new fatalities, the death toll has surged to 1,64,110 on Saturday.
A total of 24,69,59,192 samples tested for Covid-19 as of Friday of which 10,46,605 samples were tested, said the Indian Council of Medical Research.
Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Chandigarh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Delhi and Haryana are states of "grave concern".The Centre has advised high-burden states and union territories to take stringent measures for containment of the surge.
So far, 730 crore doses of the corona vaccine have been administered in the country since the drive began on January 16 after approval for 'Covishield' and 'Covaxin'.. From Thursday, the government started vaccinating all people above 45 years.