India on Thursday registered as many as 1,26,789 new Covid-19 cases in a span of 24 hours, the highest number of daily cases ever since the pandemic began.
With the number of cases going up every day, India is now the third-most affected globally, behind the United States and Brazil.
The country’s overall tally is now at 1,29,28,574, according to the data updated by the Union Health Ministry.
As many as 685 deaths were reported across the country over the past 24 hours, taking the total coronavirus death count in India to 16,68,62.
While 59,258 people were discharged, the total active caseload in the country stands at 9,10,319. Around 1,18,51,393 people have recovered so far.
The health ministry on Wednesday said India surpassed the US to become the fastest vaccinating country in the world with an average daily rate of more than 3 million vaccine doses.
In a bid to effectively control the rise in cases of Covid-19, a night curfew has been imposed in Uttar Pradesh’s capital Lucknow, Kanpur and Varanasi with effect from today night.
Lucknow Police Commissioner, DK Thakur, said, “Night curfew to be imposed in Lucknow from tomorrow between 9 pm and 6 am.”
The District Magistrate of Lucknow said, “In Lucknow, all government, non-government or privately managed schools, colleges and educational institutions and coaching institutes are closed, except medical, nursing and para-medical institutes, with immediate effect for the control of Covid-19 infection till April 15, 2021.”
Maharashtra reported almost 60,000 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, its highest single-day rise since the outbreak of the pandemic. With the huge surge in cases for the past few weeks, Maharashtra’s positivity rate hit 15% today.
With 59,907 Covid-19 cases reported in the state, Maharashtra Covid-19 tally reached 3,17,3261, according to the daily health bulletin.