COVID-19 India: Another grim day with 3.8 lakh cases, 3.4k deaths

In a yet another worrying daily high, India on Friday recorded over 3.86 lakh fresh new coronavirus infection case while the death toll has surged with 3,498 in the last 24 hours, according to Union Health Ministry's database as reported by NDTV.

The total number of deaths has increased to 2,08,330 after the one-day spike. This is the ninth straight day of over three lakh new cases in the country. India's tally of more than 1.87 crore Covid cases is the second-highest globally, behind the United States and ahead of Brazil.

Maharashtra reported 66,159 new cases and 771 deaths on Thursday. The Mumbai civic body has cited vaccine shortage and said it is stopping vaccination for three days, starting today.

After Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Delhi have the highest number of infections.

Delhi once again reported its highest ever deaths in a day due to the virus. 395 Covid patients died and 24,235 new infections were reported in the last 24 hours in the capital, according to government data.

Even with the vaccination drive set to open to all above 18 from tomorrow, many states are uncertain about the availability of enough vaccine doses. States like Maharashtra and Delhi say they don't have enough doses. Tamil Nadu has ordered 1.5 crore doses but sources say the state government is uncertain about starting vaccinations for those between 18 and 45 from Saturday.

More medical supplies from the international community, meanwhile, continue to arrive in India as the country battles a devastating second wave of coronavirus pandemic that has stretched its healthcare infrastructure to its limit amid surging cases.