India records 89,129 Covid-19 cases, biggest one-day spike since late September

714 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours, the highest since October 21 when 717 fatalities were reported.

A health worker, wearing PPE kit, conducts COVID-19 test of a person at the Gateway of India in Mumbai. (File Photo | PTI)

NEW DELHI: As many as 89,129 new Covid-19 were reported in the country on Saturday, the highest daily rise in around six-and-halfmonths, taking the total tally of infections to over 1.23 crore and total death toll to 1,64,110 with 714 fatalities being reported on a single day. Over 81 per cent of the total infections reported on Saturday were from just eight states — Maharashtra, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh.

According to the union health ministry, ten districts — Pune, Mumbai, Nagpur, Thane, Nashik, Bengaluru Urban, Aurangabad, Delhi, Ahmednagar and Nanded — account for 50 per cent of the total active caseload of the country.

The increase in cases reported on Saturday was the highest since September 20 last year when 92,605 new infections were recorded in a span of 24 hours and the jump in fatalities reported on Saturday was the highest since October 21.

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The number of daily cases peaked in September last year with 97,894 infections being reported on the 17th day of the month, after which there was a gradual decline in cases. According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 24,69,59,192 samples have been tested for Covid-19 up to April 2 with 10,46,605 of them being tested on Friday.

Maharashtra has registered a nine-fold jump, the maximum increase in the number of active cases in the last two months. In percentage terms, Punjab has reported the maximum increase in active cases. Five states — Maharashtra, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Kerala and Punjab — cumulatively account for 77.3 per cent of the total active cases in the country.

Maharashtra alone accounts for 59.36 per cent of the total active caseload of the country. Twelve states — Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Karnataka, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Kerala — are displaying an upward trajectory in daily new cases. India’s cumulative recoveries stand at 1,15,69,241 with 44,202 recoveries being registered in a day. The total number of Covid vaccine doses administered in the country crossed 7.3 crore mark which includes over 6 crore first doses, while the second dose numbers are also nearing the 1 crore mark.