Fresh Covid-19 cases hit an all-time high in India on Wednesday, surpassing Monday's record of more than 1.03 lakh in a single day. Wednesday's tally of new Covid cases - 1,15,736 cases - till 8 am - comes as the number of daily new cases are soaring in states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, Punjab and Delhi, among others, according to the official data of the Union Health Ministry. 

Among all the states, Maharashtra recorded the highest surge in daily Covid cases at 56,330, followed by Karnataka at 3,487 and Punjab at 2,350. Today's numbers are significant, as this is the highest peak the daily Covid cases have reached since it all began last year.

India's total cases now stand at 1,28,01,785, of which full recoveries are 1,17,92,135; active cases are at 8,43,473, and the death toll has increased to 1,66,177 with 630 deaths reported in the last 24 hours.

PM to meet state heads

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet state heads on Thursday to take stock of the rapid rise in corona cases. He recently held a high-level meeting and directed to continue with the mission-mode approach in the states and districts, reporting a higher number of cases so that the collective gains of Covid-19 management in the country in the last 15 months are not squandered. The government also announced a special campaign to promote Covid-appropriate behaviour at workplaces, health facilities and other public places from April 6 to 14.

Next four weeks critical

The next four weeks will be critical for the country in the backdrop of the second wave of Covid, spreading faster than the previous one, Dr VK Paul, member-health, Niti Aayog, said Tuesday. "We have to tolerate the second wave of Covid 19, face it and also defeat it. We need a lot of positivity to fight it, and the next four weeks are going to be very critical," Paul said during the press conference on Covid 19 organised by the Union Health Ministry on Tuesday.

Vaccinations

The cumulative number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has crossed 8.7 Crore on Wednesday with 8,70,77,474 shots till 7 am today. These include 89,63,724 Healthcare Workers (HCWs) who have taken the 1st dose and 53,94,913 HCWs who have taken the 2nd dose, 97,36,629 Frontline Workers (FLWs) (1st dose), 43,12,826 FLWs (2nd dose), 3,53,75,953 first dose beneficiaries and 10,00,787 second dose beneficiaries of more than 60 years old and 2,18,60,709 (first dose) and 4,31,933 (2nd dose) beneficiaries aged 45 to 60. 

As on Day-81 of the vaccination drive, i.e. April 6, 33,37,601 vaccine doses were given, out of which 30,08,087 beneficiaries were inoculated across 41,396 sessions for 1st dose and 3,29,514 beneficiaries received 2nd dose of vaccine. It is to be noted that India has surpassed the US to become the fastest vaccinating country in the world with an average daily rate of 30,93,861 vaccine doses.

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