62,267 new cases in India, highest since October 16

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: A total of 62,267 new infections of Covid-19 were reported across India on Friday, the highest single-day increase in cases since October 16, as the country’s second wave continued to push infection numbers up forcing states to reintroduce curbs on social gatherings ahead of Holi and the festive season. Active cases across the country, meanwhile, soared near the half million mark after a gap of over four months.

Maharashtra on Friday announced the imposition of a night curfew across the state starting Sunday in an attempt to curb the outbreak. The state reported 36,902 new cases – highest single-day increase ever. This is the sixth time in nine days that the state has set a new all-time record for daily cases.

As several states grappled with resurgence of infections, Centre on Friday rushed two high-level teams to Chhattisgarh and Chandigarh to assist the local governments in managing the outbreak.

After Friday’s 62,267 cases, India’s seven-day average of infections, which denotes the country’s case curve, soared to 50,485, also the worst since midOctober. More than a quarter million new cases have been reported across the country in just the last five days. An analysis by HT reported on Thursday showed that Covid cases in the second wave are rising at a rate faster than they were even during the worst of the first wave (July to September).

This surge has pushed the number of active cases in the country close to the 500,000mark for the first time since November. As of Friday night, there are 454,178 active cases across the country.

In Maharashtra, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray the ordered night curfew from Sunday after holding a meeting with senior officials to review the preparedness against the disease. He warned of stricter restrictions if the people did not observe Covid-19 safety protocol. “I do not wish to impose lockdown. But there seems a possibility of health care facilities falling short given the rise in number of coronavirus patients,” Thackeray said in a statement.

Maharashtra is the latest among a string of states that have been forced to reintroduce curbs on social gatherings ahead of Holi and other festivals. In the past week, Delhi, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh clamped restrictions on public assembly and gatherings ahead of Holi, Navaratri and Shab-e-Barat.

Other than Maharashtra, two other states – Punjab and Gujarat – also set new records of single-day new cases. Punjab reported 3,122 new cases while 2,190 were reported in Gujarat. Several other states – Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Haryana, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh – are displaying strong upward trajectories in the past month.

People wearing masks wait at a bus station in Jammu.