Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Karnataka continue to report a surge in the COVID-19 daily new cases, informed to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) while adding that they cumulatively account for 85.51 per cent of the new cases reported in the past 24 hours. 

According to the health ministry, 17,407 new coronavirus cases were registered in the last 24 hours, out of which Maharashtra has reported the highest daily new cases at 9,855. This is the highest number recorded in Maharashtra since October 18 last year when 10,259 new cases were reported. Kerala follows with 2,765 cases while Punjab reported 772 new cases.

India's total active caseload has reached 1,73,413 today and the country's present active caseload now stands at 1.55 per cent of the total positive cases. 89 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours. Six states account for 88.76 per cent of the new deaths. Maharashtra saw the maximum casualties (42). Kerala follows with 15 daily deaths andPunjabreported12 deaths in the last 24 hours.

Twenty-three States/UTs including Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir (UT), Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Goa, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Puducherry, Assam, Lakshadweep, Nagaland, Sikkim, Ladakh (UT), Tripura, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Arunachal Pradesh have not reported any COVID19 deaths in the last 24 hours. As per the health ministry data, more than 1.66 crore (1,66,16,048) vaccine doses have been administered through 3,23,064 sessions, as per the provisional report till 7 am today.

These include 67,90,808 Health Care Workers (first dose), 28,72,725 HCWs (second dose), 58,03,856 Front Line Workers (first dose) and 4,202 FLWs (second dose), 1,43,759 beneficiaries aged more than 45 years with specific co-morbidities (first dose) and 10,00,698 beneficiaries aged more than 60 years. As of day 47 of the vaccination drive (March 3, 2021), nearly 10 lakh (9,94,452) vaccine doses were given. Of these, 8,31,590 beneficiaries were vaccinated across 10,849 sessions for 1st dose (HCWs and FLWs) and 1,62,862 HCWs and FLWs received 2nd dose of the vaccine.