Here are the Covid-19 records India broke on April 12

On Monday, India and a handful of its 29 states broke a number of records, none of which were desirable.

With 1,68,912 positive cases, India not only recorded its highest ever daily Covid-19 case tally, but it also surpassed Brazil to become the world's second worst-affected nation with a cumulative 1,35,27,717 cases.

While Brazil's total caseload on Monday stood at 1,34,82,543, United States, the worst affected nation in the world had a caseload bigger than that of India and Brazil combined, with 3,19,33,621 in total, according to worldometer data.

Cases in India have been rising exponentially since the second week of March 2021, giving way to the second wave of the pandemic.

Many states across the country have imposed partial lockdowns and night curfews in a bid to curb the spread of the deadly virus, which has thus far claimed over 1.7 lakh lives, according to official figures.

Read | 10 states account for over 80% of new Covid-19 cases

Another record that was broken on Monday, was that of the active caseload. India on April 12, 2021, breached the 12-lakh mark for active cases (12,01,009), surpassing the previous record of 10,17,754 that was reported on September 18, 2020, in the midst of the first wave.

As many as seven states posted all-time high figures for new daily states, with the national capital reporting 11,491 new cases. While Madhya Pradesh reported a new high of 6,489 cases, its neighbours Gujarat and Rajasthan saw a fresh spike of 6,021 cases and 5,771 cases, respectively.

The other three states, West Bengal, Haryana, and Punjab, witnessed 4,511, 3,818, and 3,451 cases respectively, all record single-day spikes. Among the states that witnessed a new record spike, West Bengal — which is in the midst of an Assembly election — is the only state that is yet to impose any restrictions.

Earlier today, DH spoke to epidemiologist Bhramar Mukherjee, who said that the peak of India's second wave may lie somewhere in the range of 3-5 lakh and could possibly fall towards the end of May.

On Sunday, Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar said that the second wave may last for 60-80 days and peak by the first week of May.