India records highest single-day spike of new COVID cases on Thursday

India saw its highest single-day spike of new COVID cases on Thursday (69,652), taking the total count to 2,836,926. Of them, 686,395 are active cases while 2,096,665 have been cured of the virus.

The COVID recovery rate in the country has seen significant progress these past weeks, Ministry of Health officials informed.

The rapid testing that's now been undertaken has also played a part in stemming the recent surge in new cases. Over 9 lakh samples were tested on Wednesday, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) informed. With this, the total number of samples tested up until 19 August stands at 32,661, 252.

977 deaths too were reported in the last 24 hours. This takes the total COVID deaths in the country to 53,866.

Meanwhile, coronavirus cases stood at 22,322,208 across the world, according to Johns Hopkins University. The fatalities rose to 786,185, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) said in its latest update.

India records highest single-day spike of new COVID cases on Thursday — An employee of Municipality Corporation sprays disinfectant inside the shrine of Dastgeer Sahib, Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani as the authorities reopened the religious places in Jammu and Kashmir after remaining closed for almost five months due to the COVID-19 outbreak, in Srinagar, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2020. (PTI Photo/S. Irfan)

The US accounted for the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 5,527,306 and 173,114, respectively, according to the CSSE.

Brazil came in second place with 3,456,652 infections and 111,100 deaths.

In terms of cases, India ranks third (2,767,273), and is followed by Russia (935,066), South Africa (596,060), Peru (549,321), Mexico (537,031), Colombia (489,122), Chile (390,037). Coronavirus cases are continuing unabated in several Latin American countries while it has shown signs of slowing down in Europe.

The countries with over 10,000 deaths are the Mexico (58,481), India (52,889), UK (41,483), Italy (35,412), France (30,434), and Spain (28,797).

(With inputs from agencies)

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