Coronavirus: India reports 68,020 new cases – highest one-day jump since October

India on Monday recorded 68,020 new coronavirus cases – the highest single-day tally since October. The country now has 1,20,39,644 cases, the third-highest behind the United States and Brazil. The toll rose by 291 to 1,61,843, data from the health ministry showed.

This is the biggest rise in cases since October 11, when India recorded 74,383 infections, according to PTI.

As many as 1,13,55,993 people have recovered from the infection. A steady increase was registered for the 19th consecutive day, with active cases jumping to 5,21,808.

A total of 6,05,30,435 people have been vaccinated so far under the country’s inoculation programme that began in January. Of these, shots were administered to 2,60,653 on Sunday alone. Meanwhile, the Indian Army on Sunday gifted 1 lakh vaccines to Nepal, ANI reported.

While Maharashtra leads the surge, several other states – Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh – are also witnessing a rise in cases.

In a statement, the health ministry said Maharashtra, Karnataka, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Chhattisgarh account for 84.5% of the new cases in India. Seven states – Maharashtra, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh – account for 82% of the new deaths reported, the ministry added.

Meanwhile, RS Sharma, chairperson of Empowered Group on vaccine administration, told The Hindu that the CoWIN portal has been upgraded to accept on one crore registrations as the government gears up to inoculate all persons above 45 years. “Upgrading the system is a continuous process and with the increase in load, the system has been acclimatised to take on the load that is expected,” he said. “We have seen the trends so far and the number of people seeking the vaccine has grown.”

State updates

1. Several states have banned public Holi celebrations this year due to the worsening coronavirus situation in the country.
2. Tamil Nadu Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan said on Sunday that people between 18 to 45 years of age accounted for 51% of the new coronavirus cases in the state, PTI reported. He added that Chennai, Chengalpet, Coimbatore, Thanjavur and Tiruvarur districts recorded the maximum number of infections since March 5.
3. Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday directed officials to prepare a plan for the implementation of a lockdown if people fail to adhere to Covid-appropriate behaviour. Over 40,000 cases were recorded in Maharashtra alone on Sunday. Of these, Mumbai accounts for 6,923 cases.
4. Delhi reported 1,881 new cases on Sunday, the highest since December 13. The city now has 6,57,715 total infections, while over 6.39 lakh patients have recovered from the disease.
5. Delhi Police Commissioner SN Shrivastava said that no violation of ban on public gatherings put in place by the city’s Disaster Management Authority, restricting celebrations for Holi, had been reported on Monday, reported the Hindustan Times. 

Global updates

• Globally, the coronavirus has infected 12,66,51,176 people and killed 27,77,020, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker. As many as 7,17,34,178 have recovered from the disease.  
• United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres criticised developed countries for creating a “stockpile” of vaccines, AFP reported. “I’m very concerned with this very unfair distribution of vaccines in the world,” Guterres said. He urged countries to share vaccines with the rest of the world to rein in the pandemic.
• German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned states that if they did not start implementing measures to stop rising coronavirus cases with appropriate seriousness in the “very foreseeable future”, she would have to consider steps on a nationwide basis, Reuters reported.
• Dozens of doctors in Paris said surging coronavirus infections could soon overwhelm the hospitals, CNN reported. In an opinion piece, published in the Journal du Dimanche, 41 Intensive Care Unit and emergency doctors wrote about a “glaring mismatch between needs and available resources”. They warned that their capacities will be exceeded” in two weeks time.
• Top US infectious diseases expert Anthony Fauci on Sunday said that the “premature” easing of restrictions was leading to the rise in coronavirus cases in the country, AFP reported. He noted that the emergence of coronavirus variants was also causing the infections to rise. 
• A joint World Health Organization-China study on the origins of Covid-19 said that transmission of the virus from bats to humans through another animal is the most likely scenario and that a lab leak is “extremely unlikely,” AP reported, quoting a draft copy of the report.