India records 38,079 daily new cases, 560 deaths in last 24 hours

India has recorded a spike of 38,079 fresh Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total caseload to 31,064,908, according to the latest figures released by the Union Health Ministry.

The death count increased to 413,123 with 560 new fatalities, the data showed.

Saturday's figures are 870 less than Friday's 38,949 fresh cases. Meanwhile, the death toll is 18 more than the preceding day when 542 fatalities were reported.

With this, India's active caseload now stands at 4,30,422 till 8 am on Friday. In the last 24 hours, active cases declined by 1,619, the health ministry said.

The top five states which have registered maximum Covid-19 cases are Kerala with 13,773 cases, followed by Maharashtra with 8,010 cases, Andhra Pradesh with 2,526 cases, Tamil Nadu with 2,405 cases and Odisha with 2,110 cases.

Around 74.01 per cent of the new coronavirus cases are reported from these five states, with Kerala alone responsible for 35.36 per cent of the new cases.

Maximum casualties were reported in Maharashtra (170), followed by Kerala with 87 daily deaths.

The country's recovery rate now stands at 97.28 per cent.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said on Saturday that a total of 44,20,21,954 samples have been tested for Covid-19 so far in the country, of which, 19,98,715 accounts for the last 24 hours.

Amid the probability of a third wave, health officials on Friday warned that the next 100-125 days are very critical to avert a surge in Covid-19 cases that may lead to a third wave.

They also underlined that the rise in cases globally and the slow pace of decline in India should be considered as a "warning" that an outbreak may happen here too.

While officials stressed the need for states to focus on containment measures, particularly in micro-containment zones, and also ramp up vaccination, they also urged people to not become complacent and continue with Covid appropriate behaviour.