India records 24,882 new Covid-19 cases, highest in nearly 3 months; 140 deaths take toll to 1.58 lakh

The country has registered 1,41,640 cases in seven days

After more than 80 days, India’s fresh Covid-19 numbers ballooned to nearly 25,000 on Saturday, with Maharashtra accounting for more than 63% of cases and Punjab continuing to remain a major source of worry.

As many as 24,882 fresh Covid-19 cases and 140 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours, according to the Union Health Ministry data.

The total number of active cases stands at 2.02 lakh, of which Maharashtra alone accounts for 63.57%. The western state, which is witnessing the most prominent second wave of the epidemic in India, reported nearly 16,000 cases in the last 24 hours.

Punjab reported more than 1,000 fresh infections in eight out of the last nine days. Out of the 140 deaths, Maharashtra saw the maximum casualties (56) followed by Punjab (34).

“Maharashtra and Punjab are ahead of other states, and no state is immune. It is only a matter of time. However, the surge is not significant to result in a second wave at the national level. These are only local as of now,” Giridhar Babu, an epidemiologist at the Public Health Foundation of India, told DH.

In addition, Haryana, Gujarat and the Union Territory of Chandigarh witness a clear surge in new cases whereas Madhya Pradesh, Delhi and Karnataka are showing early signs of a new spike.

“Cases are surging due to the accumulation of susceptible people. This is triggered by higher population movement in areas which hitherto did not have higher burden and congregations such as marriages and crowds and clusters in closed spaces,” Babu said.

“Better containment efforts with enhanced testing and syndromic approaches should guide the response in all states. Also, we need to increase vaccine coverage to all vulnerable people as fast as possible,” he said.

Till 7 pm on Saturday, more than 29 million Indians have received at least one dose of the vaccine, but the daily count of vaccination remained 9.74 lakh or just under a million. The government’s target is to vaccinate 300 million Indians by August to break the virus’ chain of transmissions.

More than 42 lakh healthcare workers and over 10 lakh frontline staff received both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine. Nearly 79 lakh individuals of 60-plus age have been inoculated with a single dose of the vaccine so far.