India recorded 1,15,736 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, the biggest-ever single-day surge since the onset of the pandemic early last year, taking the overall tally to 12,801,785 on Wednesday, according to the Health Ministry. Active cases crossed the 800,000 mark in the last 24 hours and now stands at 843,473, comprising 6.59 per cent of the total infections.
Reports suggest that India is now the fourth most affected country in the world in terms of active cases.
On Tuesday, the Health Ministry said that the next four weeks will be "very critical".
Also in the last 24 hours, a total of 59,856 patients recovered, with the recovery rate reported to be at 92.11 per cent. Meanwhile, the death toll increased to 1,66,177 on Wednesday with 630 new fatalities. The fatality rate stood at 1.30 per cent. A total of 12,08,329 samples were tested for Covid-19 in the period, taking the total sample tests so far 25,14,39,598.
In the meantime, India has vaccinated 33,37,601 in the last 24 hours, while 8,70,77,474 doses of the corona jabs have been administered in the country since the drive began on January 16 after the approval for the Covishield and Covaxin.
On April 1, the third phase of the vaccination drive began under which anyone 45 years or older are allowed to get a jab.
Amid the continued surge in Covid-19 cases in India again in the past few weeks, the Health Ministry said on Tuesday that vaccination is being carried out on the basis of priority.
It added that the aim of the drive is to vaccinate the ones who need it most, rather than the ones who want to get inoculated.
About a half of these were from Maharashtra. Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka were the other states which reported a large number of deaths. India on Sunday had recorded an all-time high of 1,03,558 cases in a span of 24 hours.
Amid the rising infection cases, Delhi from today will undergo a night curfew from 10 pm to 5 am, till April 30, on the other hand, Pune is facing an acute shortage of ICU and ventilators and active cases in the Mumbai Police force has more than doubled in the last fortnight, rising from 155 on March 22 to 408 till Monday night.
In view of growing cases, the call for expanding the Covid-19 vaccination drive to cover all age groups is being considered. The Centre is also thinking about making the vaccine jabs available for those above 18 years of age. Presently, only those above 45 years are allowed to take the vaccine.
Also Read: Night curfew imposed in Delhi from today between 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. till April 30
NITI Aayog Member (Health) Dr VK Paul said the pandemic situation in the country has worsened with a steep increase in cases, and a large part of the population is still susceptible to the virus. "People's participation is vital to control the second wave. The next four weeks are going to very critical. The entire country has to come together and make efforts to fight the pandemic."
"The intensity of the pandemic has increased and it is spreading faster than last time. In some states, it (the condition) is worse than others but the upswing (in cases) can be observed across the country," he said.