India: 4.1 Lakh fresh covid-19 cases, 3,980 deaths in last 24 hours

India reported 3,780 Covid deaths in 24 hours on Wednesday - the highest in a day so far - pushing the total fatalities to 2,26,188. The country's Covid caseload has hit 2.06 crore with over 3.82 lakh new cases on Wednesday as the crisis continues to crush the healthcare system.

India is second only to the United States in the total number of cases reported since the beginning of the pandemic.

The northern states of Uttar Pradesh and Punjab registered their highest Covid-19 deaths as India continues to report a surge in daily cases. Uttar Pradesh recorded the biggest single-day jump of 357 Covid-19 deaths that took the toll to 14,151 while it registered 31,165 fresh cases. Lucknow and Kanpur registered the highest deaths in the state.

Punjab on Wednesday saw another record 182 fatalities, bringing the toll to 9,825, while 8,015 fresh infections, the biggest single-day spike, took the tally to 4,07,509, according to a medical bulletin. The number of active cases rose from 61,935 on Tuesday to 63,007 Wednesday.

West Bengal on Wednesday registered its highest single-day spike of 18,102 Covid cases pushing the tally to 9,16,635. The death toll went up to 11,847 after 103 fatalities due to the deadly virus were recorded in the state, it added. The state has three days back concluded a prolonged assembly election.