India’s daily tally of new Covid infections continues to be a picture of worry, with the latest count for Sunday (last 24 hours) coming in at 3,92,488 along with a record daily deaths of 3,689 till 8 am this morning.

This latest count is, however, lower than yesterday’s 4,01,993 new infections. The last 24 hours to Saturday saw 3,523 deaths in a single day.

From April 27, India has been consistently recording over 3.5 lakh cases on a daily basis, putting pressure on the crumbling health infrastructure, especially in metros.

“Ten States including Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Karnataka, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan report 72.72 per cent of the new cases. Maharashtra has reported the highest daily new cases at 63,282. It is followed by Karnataka with 40,990 while Kerala reported 35,636 new cases,” the Health Ministry said in a statement.

Vaccination drive

Meanwhile, cumulatively, the country administered 15,68,16,031 vaccine doses on Sunday with 18,26,219 anti-Covid shots given in a single day till 8 am. Furthermore, the phase three vaccine drive began yesterday for the 18-44 age group in some areas and a total of 84,000 anti-Covid jabs were given to this group, part of 18.26 lakh vaccine doses.

Besides this, the Government also said it has so far provided around 16.54 crore vaccine shots to States/UTs for free, of which, the total consumption including wastage is 15,76,32,631 doses till 8 am on Sunday, as per government data.

“More than 78 lakh Covid vaccine doses (78,60,779) are still available with the States/UTs to be administered. Furthermore, more than 56 lakh (56,20,670) vaccine doses will be received in addition by the States/UTs within the next three days,” the health ministry statement added.

India’s new coronavirus cases dipped marginally on Sunday but deaths due to the infection jumped by a record 3,689, with one more State going into lockdown as the nation’s creaky healthcare system is unable to cope with a massive case load.

Authorities reported 3,92,488 new cases in the previous 24 hours to push total cases to 19.56 million. So far, the virus has killed 2,15,542 people.

Hospitals, morgues and crematoriums have been overwhelmed as the country has reported more than 3,00,000 daily cases for more than 10 days straight. Many families have been left on their own to scramble for medicines and oxygen.

Phase-3: India administers over 84,000 vaccine doses

Reuters adds

Nearly 10 States and Union Territories have imposed some form of restrictions, even as the Centre remains reluctant to impose a national lockdown.

Odisha became the latest to announce a two-week lockdown, joining Delhi, Maharashtra, Karnataka and West Bengal. Other States, including Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Assam, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan, have either imposed night curfews or weekend lockdowns.

Why India is losing its grip over Covid

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