India Covid-19 Cases: 68,020, biggest one-day surge since October, 1.2 crore total cases, 1,61,843 deaths

India Coronavirus Cases: Maharashtra is already considering another lockdown.

Highlights

Total cases in the country now stands at 1.2 crore
The total number of active cases has risen by 35,498 in 24 hours
Over 1.61 lakh people have died since January 2020

New Delhi: There is no respite for India on the coronavirus front. Up to 68,020 fresh cases have been reported over the past 24 hours, making it the biggest one-day surge since October, Union Health Ministry data indicate. Maharashtra reported an overwhelming majority -- 40,414 -- of the total. The state is already bracing for a shortfall in health care infrastructure.

Here are the top-10 developments on this front from the past 24 hours:

Up to 68,020 fresh coronavirus cases were reported in India over the past 24 hours, the biggest one-day surge since October. This is besides the 291 deaths recorded. The total number of active cases has risen by 35,498.
The total number of Covid-19 cases in the country now stands at 1.2 crore with 1,61,843 deaths recorded till now since the outbreak hit India in January 2020.
Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu remain the other worst-affected states.
Maharashtra, which has officially warned of another lockdown given the resurgence of the infection, reported an overwhelming majority -- 40,414 cases -- of the total, along with 108 deaths. The state is already bracing for a shortfall in health care infrastructure. It has been placed under a strict night curfew since Saturday midnight.
Maharashtra has been reporting the highest number of coronavirus cases over the past few days. On Saturday, Mumbai reported its single-highest surge in 24 hours since the beginning of the pandemic.
The Delhi government has also re-applied restrictions on gatherings such as weddings and funerals amid a big spike.
This second wave of Covid-19 comes amid the heat of Assembly elections in West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Puducherry where campaigning is on in full swing, raising fears of a rapid spread of infection due to crowding.
The Union Health Secretary on Saturday chaired a high-level meeting with 12 states and Union Territories to discuss the spike. A five-step strategy was introduced to tackle the situation. The steps were: exponential increase in testing, effective isolation and contact tracing, re-invigorating healthcare workers, ensuring Covid protocols are followed, and targeted approach to vaccination.
President Joe Biden's administration and private companies are working to develop a standard way of handling credentials -- often referred to as "vaccine passports" -- that would let US citizens to prove they have been vaccinated against the novel coronavirus as businesses try to reopen.
A joint WHO-China study on the origins of Covid-19 says 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".