India recorded 354 Covid-19 related fatalities on Wednesday, the highest death toll reported in a single day since December 17, as officials warned the country must be on guard against surging cases.
V K Paul, a health official of a government-led think tank, said the situation appeared to be going from “bad to worse.”
“Clearly we have to be very, very, vigilant,” he said.
Between March 24 and March 29, India set consecutive new records for the number of Covid-19 cases identified in a day in 2021, according to a CNN tally of figures from the Indian Ministry of Health.
Nearly 80% of the new cases over the previous 24 hours were reported from the six states of Punjab, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat, according to figures released by the ministry on Tuesday.
India has distributed more than 63 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines since it began vaccinating priority groups on January 16. Starting Thursday, anyone older than 45 can get vaccinated.
India has recorded more than 12.1 million cases of coronavirus and at least 162,468 people have died, according to the Ministry of Health.