Coronavirus: India reports highest single-day spike in 3 months
What's the story
India reported the highest single-day spike in coronavirus infections on Monday morning, according to data shared by the Union Health Ministry.
On Monday, the nation added 26,291 new COVID-19 cases amid a steady rise in infections over the past several weeks.
The rise in infections is mainly being led by Maharashtra, India's worst-hit state in the outbreak.
Here are more details.
Outbreak
1.13 crore have contracted COVID-19 so far
According to the Ministry, till 8 am on Sunday, India reported a total of 1,13,85,339 cases.
India has reported the second-highest number of infections for any country in the world after the United States.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, 1,10,07,352 people have recovered, and 2,19,262 infections are active.
The death toll climbed to 1,58,725 with 118 more fatalities being recorded in a day.
States
Maharashtra contributed 60% of India's single-day infections
Maharashtra reported 16,620 fresh infections in a day, comprising over 63% of India's total single-day infections. The state has reported 23,14,413 total cases, including 52,861 deaths and 21,34,072 recoveries.
Other states reporting a high infection tally are Kerala (1,792 new cases), Punjab (1,501), Karnataka (934), and Madhya Pradesh (743).
Infections are also rising again in Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu.
Trend
Infections started rising again over past month
Infections in India had peaked in mid-September when India was reporting nearly one lakh infections daily and crossed the 50-lakh mark.
Cumulative infections crossed one crore on December 19, even as daily new cases declined steadily, falling under 9,000 in early-February.
The outbreak has worsened ever since, with the government blaming large gatherings and a lack of compliance with COVID-19 appropriate behavior in regions.
Vaccination
Nearly 3 crore vaccinated across India
India had launched the first phase of its vaccination drive on January 16 with an aim to inoculate three crore health and frontline workers for free.
Starting March 1, the second phase was launched to inoculate those who are above 60 years of age or are above 45 years with co-morbidities.
As of Monday morning, 2,99,08,038 people had been vaccinated in India.