India records 10,158 new COVID-19 cases, highest in nearly 8 months

India has recorded a sharp surge in coronavirus cases, with 10,158 new infections reported in a single day, the highest in nearly eight months, according to data from the Union Health Ministry.

The number of active cases has increased to 44,998, constituting 0.10% of the total infections

The daily positivity rate and weekly positivity rate stand at 4.42% and 4.02% respectively.

However, the nationwide COVID-19 recovery rate remains high at 98.71%, with 4,42,10,127 individuals having recuperated from the disease.

The case fatality rate is 1.19%. Additionally, the country has administered 220.66 crore doses of the Covid vaccine so far, as per the ministry’s website.

Meanwhile, the national capital on Wednesday reported 1,149 Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, while the positivity rate stood at 23.8 per cent.

The tally was 200 more than Tuesday’s tally of 980. The latest spike is the highest since August 20, when it had reported 1,109 fresh cases.

The national capital reported one COVID-19 fatality, according to the Delhi health department bulletin. It, however, added COVID-19 was not the primary cause of death.

The total number of deaths due to the virus stands 26,546. The active cases in the national capital now stand at 3,347, while the cumulative cases are at 20,17,250.

Delhi has witnessed a spurt in the number of fresh Covid infections over the last fortnight amid a sharp rise in H3N2 influenza cases in the country.

The number of fresh cases had dropped to zero on January 16, the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic.

Mock drills were conducted at hospitals in Delhi to ascertain their preparedness to tackle COVID-19 amid a surge in cases in the national capital.

The mock drill conducted on Tuesday was part of a nationwide exercise to take stock of the hospitals” preparedness to tackle the surge in Covid cases. Officials had already announced that both public and private facilities are expected to participate in the exercise conducted on April 10 and 11.(With inputs from PTI)