India recorded 53,476 new Covid-19 cases in a span of 24 hours, the highest single-day rise so far this year, taking the nationwide coronavirus tally to 1,17,87,534, the Union health ministry said on Thursday.
Now, India has over 1.17 crore Covid-19 cases, the third-highest amount behind the United States and Brazil.
This is the biggest spike in daily cases the country has seen in 133 days. India had last recorded over 47,000 cases in early November 2020.
The spike in the last 24 hours was 13% higher than the fresh cases reported on Wednesday – 47,262.
The active caseload registered an increase for the 15th day in a row and was recorded at 3,95,192, while 26,490 recuperated from the infection in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of recoveries to 1,12,31,650, the ministry data updated at 8 am said.
The country’s Covid-19 death count increased to 1,60,692, with 251 new fatalities, the highest in around 84 days.
Maharashtra, Punjab, Kerala, Karnataka and Chhattisgarh are the five states that have seen the biggest single-day surge. With 31,855 fresh infections, Maharashtra’s tally jumped to 25,64,881.
According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 23,75,03,882 samples have been tested till 24 March, with 10,65,021 samples tested on Wednesday.