Biggest COVID spike in 5 months: Cases hit 53,000 as India detects double mutant variant of virus

New Delhi: In the highest single-day spike of coronavirus cases in more than five months, India on Thursday reported 53,476 new infections in the last 24 hours, Health Ministry data. The data updated on Thursday morning said India recorded 251 deaths in the last 24 hours. 

The spike in the last 24 hours was 13 per cent higher than the fresh cases reported yesterday – 47,262.

Maharashtra, Punjab, Kerala, Karnataka and Chhattisgarh are the five states that have seen the biggest single-day surge, as per the Health Ministry data. With 31,855 new infections, Maharashtra’s tally jumped to 25,64,881.

Over the last two weeks, India has been witnessing a huge spike in fresh infections.

India has detected a novel variant of the Sars-Cov-2 in seven states, and especially in high numbers in Maharashtra, the health ministry said on Wednesday, a discovery that experts said could, in part, explain a surge in cases although officials said it may be too soon to draw conclusions.