India reported 1,68,912 new cases of the coronavirus on Monday, as the country witnessed another highest single-day count, data from the health ministry showed. The country’s overall tally of infections since the pandemic broke out last March rose to 1,35,27,717.

The toll went up to 1,70,179 with 904 more deaths in the last day. India’s tally of active cases stood at 12,01,009. The number rose by nearly a lakh from Sunday’s tally of 11.08 lakh.

More than 10.20 crore vaccine doses have been administered so far.

Source: MOHFW

The rise in cases came as the spread of the infection continued unabated in major hotspots such as Delhi and Maharashtra. The national Capital reported over 10,000 cases for the first time on Sunday. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said he was not in favour of a lockdown, but warned that the government might have to impose the restriction if the number of beds and other health infrastructure in the city came under stress.

Maharashtra also reported the highest-ever single-day increase in cases as the tally rose by over 63,000. As many as 16 states were showing an upward trend in the number of cases, with six of them getting added to the list in the last 10 days, the Hindustan Times reported.

Meanwhile, a central team that visited three of the worst-affected states of Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Punjab flagged problems such as inadequate RT-PCR tests, lack of containment measures and contact tracing operations, and a general shortage of healthcare workers, even as hospitals were inundated with new patients.

State updates

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