People carry the body of a man, who died from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), from an ambulance for burial at a graveyard in New Delhi, India, April 16, 2021. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui
Delhi on Friday reported a staggering 348 deaths, its biggest single-day spike in the COVID-19 death count as hospitals in the national capital continued to grapple with a severe shortage of medical oxygen, the NDTV reported.
The city also reported 24,331 fresh coronavirus cases amid the frightening second wave in the pandemic. As per the report by NDTV, the national capital is also the worst-hit city in the country as it has been reporting the biggest daily spikes in coronavirus cases this month. The city's positivity rate is 32 per cent.
The national capital currently has 92,000 active cases, which is also a record.
A total of 23,572 people have recovered from the infection while 75,037 people were tested during the day.
The caseload has triggered a critical oxygen shortage in Delhi. Several hospitals said they would run out of the life-saving gas in a few hours if the stocks were not replenished.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday held a meeting with leading oxygen manufacturers across the country, asking them to utilise the industry's full potential to meet medical oxygen demand in the coming days. The PM said there was a need to increase the availability of oxygen cylinders as well as to upgrade logistical facilities for its transportation, PTI reported.
India recorded over 3 lakh cases for the second straight day on Friday, clocking 3,32,730 cases in the last 24 hours, the Union Health Ministry informed. With this, India's trend of registering the world's highest daily tally continues, pushing the country's total infection count to 16,263,695 cases. As many as 2,263 people also died of Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, mounting the coronavirus death toll to 186,920.