Health
India reports over 1.68 lakh COVID infections, 904 deaths in 24 hours
New Delhi: In the last 24 hours, India recorded 1,68,912 COVID infections, the sixth record rise in seven days, pushing the country’s caseload to over 1.35 crore. The resurgence of the virus led to 904 new deaths, taking the total death count to 1,70,179.
India’s tally of more than 1.35 crore Covid cases is the second-highest globally, behind the United States and just ahead of Brazil’s.
Maharashtra remains the worst-affected state with 63,294 new cases and 349 deaths in the last 24 hours. The state government is likely to take a call on announcing a complete lockdown in the state this week.
In terms of the total caseload, Maharashtra is followed by the southern states of Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
Delhi also witnessed the highest single-day spike with 10,774 new COVID-19 cases and 48 deaths reported. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said this is the fourth wave in the capital and that it is “much more dangerous”. He will hold a key meeting today to take stock of the situation.
On Sunday, Gujarat reported 5,469 new cases of coronavirus, which took its caseload to 3,47,495. The Gujarat High Court initiated public interest litigation on its own over the pandemic, observing that media reports on the pandemic indicate that the state was heading towards a “health emergency of sorts”.
Despite the country being in the grips of the deadly wave of the pandemic, lakhs of devotees from across the country have gathered in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar for the Kumbh Mela – one of the largest religious gatherings in the world. More than one lakh devotees were seen on the banks of the Ganga river, in clear violation of the COVID rules.
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