Dip in single-day Covid-19 infections, fatalities: 3.66 lakh new cases, 3,754 deaths

So far, 2,46,116 people have fallen prey to the disease

After recording over four lakh fresh cases for four consecutive days, India witnessed a single-day rise of 3,66,161 Covid-19 cases on Monday, which pushed its tally to 2,26,62,575, according to the health ministry.

The death toll due to the viral disease climbed to 2,46,116 with 3,754 more people succumbing to it, the ministry's data updated at 8 am showed.

The number of active cases of the coronavirus infection in the country has gone up to 37,45,237, accounting for 16.53 per cent of its total caseload, while the national Covid-19 recovery rate was recorded at 82.39 per cent.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has climbed to 1,86,71,222, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.09 per cent, according to the data

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India's Covid-19 tally crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7 last year, the 30-lakh mark on August 23, the 40-lakh mark on September 5 and the 50-lakh mark on September 16.

It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and the one-crore mark on December 19 last year. The figure crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 30,37,50,077 samples have so far been tested for the viral disease across the country, including 14,74,606 on Sunday.

The number of positive results from the tests was not immediately clear, however.

Many states have imposed strict lockdowns over the last month while others have placed curbs on movement and shut cinemas, restaurants, pubs and shopping malls.

But pressure is mounting on Modi to announce a nationwide lockdown as he did during the first wave of infections last year.

He is battling criticism for allowing huge gatherings at a religious festival and holding large election rallies during the past two months even as cases surged.

"A failure of governance of epic and historic proportions," Vipin Narang, a political science professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States, said on Twitter.

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has also called for a "complete, well-planned, pre-announced" lockdown.

New Delhi, the capital, entered a fourth week of lockdown, with tougher curbs such as the shutdown of the suburban rail network, while residents scrambled for scarce hospital beds and oxygen supplies.

"This is not the time to be lenient," Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Sunday.

"This phase is so tough, this wave is so dangerous, so many people are dying...the priority at this hour is to save lives," he said in a televised address.

Late on Sunday, the northern state of Uttarakhand said it would impose curfew from Tuesday until May 18, just days after mass religious gatherings held in the state became virus super spreading events.

Shops selling essential food items will stay open for some hours in the morning, while malls, gyms, theatres, bars and liquor shops are among the enterprises that will be shut, the government said.

Measures announced by India's central bank last week for relief to lenders and borrowers during the new devastating wave of infections will only delay the stress for financial institutions, Fitch Ratings said.

Fitch said disruptions could persist longer and spread further than its baseline case scenario, especially in case of more regional lockdowns or one nationwide, adding that a drop in April-May activity would delay recovery.

Organisers of the popular and lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament conceded the remaining games would have to be played overseas after having suspended the contest over the virus this month.

Global support, in the form of oxygen cylinders and concentrators, ventilators and other medical gear, has poured in.

(With agency inputs)