India on Wednesday reported the highest single-day rise in coronavirus cases since June 20 last year, according to a CNN tally of figures from the Indian Health Ministry.
The country reported 58,097 new infections — a 55% increase on the previous day, which saw 37,379 cases, the Health Ministry said.
On Tuesday, the southern state of Karnataka became the second to impose a weekend curfew where all activities except essential services will be shut on Saturday and Sunday. Earlier in the day, the national capital territory of Delhi was the first to impose such restrictions.
“Data shows us that cases are doubling every 2 to 3 days in Karnataka!” K. Sudhakar, Karnataka’s health minister tweeted. Earlier, Delhi’s health minister told reporters the Omicron variant constituted the majority of new cases in the capital.
Political rallies: At least 15 of India’s 28 states and eight union territories have some restrictions to curb the spread of the virus. However, politicians have continued to hold large gatherings with thousands in attendance ahead of elections in five states in early 2022.
No national restrictions on political gatherings have been put in place so far.
On Monday, India began vaccinating children ages 15 to 18. As of Tuesday evening, a total of 8,145,038 vaccine doses had been administered to children, according to the Health Ministry.
India has so far reported 35,018,358 Covid-19 cases and 482,551 deaths.