India on Wednesday reported 457 deaths in the last 24 hours — the highest since December 17 when 355 COVID-19 fatalities were reported in a single day. This is also the highest single-day spike in casualties this year.
The data was based on releases by various State Health Departments as of 10 p.m. Maharashtra registered more than half the number of deaths with 227 fatalities, while Punjab registered the second highest toll with 55 deaths on Wednesday.
Coronavirus | Keep vaccine wastage below 1%, Health Ministry tells States
The total registered death toll due to COVID-19 has now reached 1,62,959 in India, the fourth highest tally for any country in the world.
The daily case load remained high with 72,019 new infections registered on Wednesday. Maharashtra once again led the tally with 39,544 fresh cases being reported from the State.
Chhattisgarh and Karnataka registered 4,563 and 4,225 infections respectively. In the first wave of infections in India, the daily cases peaked at nearly 98,000 in mid-September 2020.
Coronavirus | Expert committee to rule on Sputnik V on April 1
The active case load has reached 5,80,327 with Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Punjab and Chhattisgarh cumulatively accounting for nearly 80% of the total active cases.
The cumulative recoveries stood at 1,14,72,462.
