Single-day spike of nearly 70,000 Covid-19 cases push India’s tally to over 2.8 million

The country also achieved another milestone when more than eight lakh samples were tested for Covid-19 for the second consecutive day in a row, according to the health ministry.

India saw another huge spike in the number of new coronavirus disease cases in the last 24 hours. According to Union health ministry update, the country recorded 69,652 fresh cases which pushed the tally to above 2.8 million (28,36,925 to be exact).

A community health worker gives medicines after screening a woman for Covid-19 in a school in Dharavi, Mumbai, on August 19.(AP Photo)

The number of active cases in the country are 6,86,395, while the number of those discharged from the hospitals is 20,96,664.

With 977 deaths in the last 24 hours, the number of fatalities reached 53,866.

The daily death toll from the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in India crossed the 1,000-mark for the third time in the last 10 days as the country reported 1,103 fatalities on Tuesday.

Before Tuesday, daily deaths in the country have crossed the 1,000-mark four times - 2,004 fatalities were recorded on June 16, 1,130 on July 22, 1,018 on August 9 and 1,010 on August 13.

The country also achieved another milestone when more than eight lakh samples were tested for Covid-19 for the second consecutive day in a row, according to the health ministry. This took the cumulative tests to 3,17,42,782, it added.

“The cumulative testing as on date has reached 3,17,42,782. The Tests Per Million too have seen a sharp rise to 23,002,” the ministry said on Wednesday.

“The sustained level of high testing has played a key role in India’s increasing rate of recovery, widening gap between the recovered and active cases, and also progressively declining fatality rate,” it further added.

Meanwhile, the Delhi government on Wednesday allowed hotels to resume operations and weekly markets to open after nearly five months on a trial basis. However, the ban on gymnasiums and yoga centres is continuing.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said that the decision will boost Delhi’s economy, which saw a steep slump during the three-month lockdown imposed on March 25 to contain the spread of Covid-19.