Coronavirus: India reports highest ever daily cases, breaches 2 lakh mark

New Delhi, Apr 15: As many as 2,00,739 more people tested positive for Covid-19 across the country in the last 24 hours, taking the cumulative tally to 1,40,74,564 said the Union health ministry on Thursday. This is the first time that the country has crossed the two-lakh mark in new infections since the pandemic broke out.

With 1,038 deaths, the toll has risen to 1,73,123. As many as 1,24,29,564 people have recovered from the infection.

Registering a steady increase for the 36th day in a row, the active cases have increased to 14,71,877 comprising 10.46 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has dropped to 88.31 per cent.

The active caseload was at its lowest at 1, 35,926 on February 12 and it was at its highest at 10,17,754 on September 18, 2020. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,24,29,564, while the case fatality rate has further dropped to 1.23 per cent, the data stated.

India''s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.

10 states, including Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka and Kerala, have shown a steep rise in daily new Covid-19 cases accounting for 82.04 per cent of the fresh infections, according to health ministry data.

16 states Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, Kerala, Telangana, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal are displaying an upward trajectory in daily new cases.

Also 8 states, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala account for 60.16 per cent of the total doses given so far in the country.

As the second wave of Covid-19 sweeps through the country, the government has urged citizens, who eligible to take the coronavirus vaccine, at the earliest.