With 4,205 deaths, India reports highest single-day toll, 3.48 lakh fresh cases

Active COVID-19 cases in India have dropped for the third straight day, with the country reporting 3,48,371 fresh infections on Wednesday. Active cases too dipped marginally by 4,000 to settle at 3.71 lakh.

India's total tally of COVID-19 cases surged to 2,33,40,938 with 3,48,421 new infections, while the recoveries have surged to 1,93,82,642, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday.

The death count in the country due to COVID-19 increased to 2,54,197 with 4,205 new fatalities in the last 24 hours. 3,55,338 people have recovered from the disease and have been discharged from hospitals.

While the daily toll in Maharashtra rose to 793 after staying below 600 for two days, at least nine states and Union territories recorded their highest ever deaths in a single day.

These included Tamil Nadu, where fatalities rose sharply to 298 from a previous peak of 241. Mizoram on Wednesday reported the highest single-day spike of 240 COVID-19 cases, pushing the tally to 8,035, an official said.

Meanwhile, Mucormycosis, also known as black fungus, a serious but rare fungal infection is now affecting COVID-19 patients and is a cause of concern in the country.

Symptoms of Mucormycosis include headache, fever, pain under the eyes, nasal or sinus congestion, and partial loss of vision.

The Maharashtra government has decided to use hospitals attached to medical colleges as treatment centres for Mucormycosis.

On the other hand, the Indian Medical Association has said that there has been a surge in bio-medical waste with COVID-19 Fallout.

The quantity of biomedical wastes generated per day in India has almost doubled from 7.22 lakh kg in pre-COVID times to nearly 14 lakh kg now, according to IMA.