At 685 deaths, India records highest daily toll in 5 months

At 685 deaths, India records highest daily toll in 5 months

With 1.25L New Covid Infections, Active Cases Cross 9L Mark

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

08.04.2021 

India recorded another peak in daily Covid-19 cases for the second consecutive day on Wednesday even as active cases breached the nine-lakh mark, just a day after crossing eight lakhs on Tuesday. There was a rapid rise in fatalities as well with 685 deaths being reported in the last 24 hours, the highest since November 4 when 713 casualties were recorded.

The country reported its highest ever case count at 1,26,287 — crossing the 1.25-lakh mark for the first time. Active cases saw the sharpest ever surge in a single day — at 67,401— taking the number to 9,10,281. Nearly three lakh active cases have been added to the tally in last one week alone, signifying the alarming spread of the virus.

Maharashtra and three other states – Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat — registered their record single-day cases since the pandemic broke.

Maharashtra’s count was close to 60,000 (59,907 cases), accounting for 47% of the country’s fresh infections. Active cases in Maharashtra crossed the five-lakh mark on Wednesday, accounting for 56% of the country’s active caseload.

Chhattisgarh reported 10,310 cases — becoming the only state after Maharashtra to cross the 10,000-mark in daily count during the second wave of the pandemic while Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat recorded 4,043 and 3,575 cases, respectively.

Maharashtra continued to top the states’ chart in daily fatalities, recording 322 deaths, the highest in nearly six months. Punjab, too, continued to record high casualties with 63 deaths, followed by Chhattisgarh (53 deaths), Uttar Pradesh (40) Karnataka (35), Gujarat (22) and Delhi (20). Fatalities have significantly gone up in many states in the first week of April compared to the first week of March. For example, Rajasthan saw a nearly five-fold jump in deaths during this period.

A health worker takes a swab sample for testing in Patna on Wednesday