Over 2 lakh Covid cases in India in 24 hours, highest ever daily spike

New Delhi: India witnessed a record daily high surge of over two lakh new Covid cases on Wednesday, taking the total tally to over 1.4 crores. This is the fifth straight day the country is seeing over 1.5 lakh new cases.

With 2,00,739 Cases and 1,038 Deaths in the last 24 hours, India is the second country after the US to report more than 2 lakh new cases in a day. The United States had taken 21 days to reach the daily count of two lakh daily cases from one lakh per day, while India reached that grim milestone in roughly 10 days.

As the pandemic continues to spread at an alarming rate, various states have imposed stringent measures to contain the pandemic.

In worst-hit Maharashtra, restaurants are shut and public gatherings of more than five people are banned. The state reported 58,952 fresh coronavirus cases, with 278 deaths reported in the last 24 hours.

Maharashtra is followed by the southern states of Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. The Covid positivity rate stands at 24.35% in Maharashtra, 21.73% in Madhya Pradesh, 15.92% in Delhi, and 15.54% in Rajasthan respectively.

The positivity rate in Kerala has jumped to a record high of 13.45% as the state recorded 8,778 new cases, the highest since October 28.

Karnataka has reported 11,265 new infections in the last 24 hours, which took its toll to over 10.94 lakh. The government has, however, ruled out the possibility of a lockdown and ordered a night curfew until April 20 in seven district headquarters, including the capital Bengaluru.

Rajasthan will impose a night curfew from 6 pm to 5 am in the entire state from tomorrow.

Meanwhile, CBSE board exams for Class 10 stand cancelled and class 12 exams have been postponed amid rising Covid cases.