India records over 1.26 lakh new COVID-19 cases, highest this year
Apr 08, 2021
New Delhi [India], April 8 : Fresh COVID-19 cases hit an all-time high in India on Thursday, surpassing the 1.26 lakh mark in a single day.
According to the Union Health Ministry, the country recorded 1,26,789 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours. With this fresh surge, the total number of infections has reached 1,29,28,574.
With 685 new COVID-related deaths in the last 24 hours, the toll in the country has mounted to 1,66,862.
Currently, there are 9,10,319 active cases in the country. As many as 59,258 people were discharged or recovered from the disease during the same period.
The previous high was recorded on Wednesday when the country reported 1,15,736 fresh COVID positive cases in a single day. This is the third day when India reported more than 1 lakh cases in a single day.
According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 12,37,781 samples were tested for COVID-19 infection on Wednesday. With this, the total samples tested in the country reached 25,26,77,379.
As many as 9,01,98,673 people have been vaccinated against COVID-19 in the country so far.
From April 2, the government started vaccinating all people above 45years. India started its vaccination drive on January 16 with priority given to all healthcare and frontline workers in the first phase. The second phase started on March 1 where doses were administered to people above the age of 60 and those between 45 and 59 years with specific comorbidities.