For the first time, India reported more than 2 lakh COVID-19 infections in the past 24 hours. This was the second-highest daily case count reported by any country in the world. The United States had reported more than 3 lakh cases early in January.
India also doubled the daily cases from 1 lakh to 2 lakh in just 10 days. So cases have doubled, but at the same time, total tests have only grown by 16 percent. The daily death toll remained above 1,000 for the second straight day.
Maharashtra reported nearly 59,000 cases. But cases have largely stabilised around that mark for the past few day. Uttar Pradesh reported its highest-ever daily spike of over 20,000 cases. Delhi and Karnataka also reported their biggest spike in 24 hours.
Among the states that are doing the most tests, Delhi topped the list. In fact, the numbers of tests carried out in Delhi was more than 5-times the national average. Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telangana were also testing well above the national average. While Uttar Pradesh was testing below the national average along with Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. With election campaign in full swing, West Bengal is testing at less than half the rate of the national average.
Medical infrastructure across several cities, including metros is coming under strain. CNN-News18’s Revathi Rajeevan and Pranshu Mishra get ground reports from Bengaluru and Uttar Pradesh.
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