Punjab surpasses Kerala in daily cases; next only to Maharashtra

New Delhi, March 16

Ahead of the Covid-19 review meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and state chief ministers tomorrow, India recorded 24,492 new infections, witnessing more than 20,000 cases in 24 hours for the sixth straight day.

Exporting vax not at cost of citizens: Govt

Vaccines are not being sent overseas at the cost of Indians and a ‘healthy balance is being maintained’, said the Health Minister.

Government sources said Maharashtra, as the lead contributor to the daily cases and active infection burden, was staring at a second wave of infections unless urgent containment measures were taken. Punjab today surpassed Kerala as the second highest contributor to 24-hour cases after Maharashtra. These three states with Karnataka, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu continue to report a surge in the daily new cases and account for 79.73% of new cases.

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Maharashtra saw the highest daily cases at 15,051; Punjab 1,818 and Kerala 1,054. TN, MP, Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka and Haryana are also beginning to see surges.

Total infections have reached 1,14,09,831 with toll touching 1,58,856 after 131 fatalities in a day.

In good signs, India had delivered 3.29 crore vaccine doses as of today and yesterday saw the highest single day vaccinations with over 30 lakh doses administered.

Active cases stand at 2,23,432 — 1.96% of all infections.