Moneycontrol PRO
you are here: HomeNewsIndia

Coronavirus Update: Eight states account for 84.5% of total single-day spike of COVID-19 cases in India

India recorded 68,020 new coronavirus cases in a span of 24 hours, the highest single-day rise so far in 2021, taking the country's COVID-19 tally above 1.20 crore, according to the Union health ministry

March 29, 2021 / 11:19 AM IST
Volunteers distribute pamphlets during an awareness campaign on the spread of COVID-19 on a street in Mumbai. (Representative image: Reuters)

Volunteers distribute pamphlets during an awareness campaign on the spread of COVID-19 on a street in Mumbai. (Representative image: Reuters)

Maharashtra, Karnataka, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Chhattisgarh have reported a high single-day spike in novel coronavirus infection. The eight states accounted for 84.5 percent of the new COVID-19 cases reported in India in the last 24 hours, according to the Union Health Ministry’s data.

India recorded 68,020 new coronavirus cases in a span of 24 hours, the highest single-day rise so far in 2021, taking the country's COVID-19 tally above 1.20 crore, according to Union Health Ministry data updated on March 29.

Registering a steady increase for the 19th day in a row, the active cases have increased to 5,21,808, which comprise 4.33 percent of the total infections, while the recovery rate has further dropped to 94.32 percent, the data stated.

Follow our LIVE blog for the latest updates of the novel coronavirus pandemic

A total of 68,020 new cases were reported in a day, the highest recorded since October 11, 2020, taking the country's tally of cases to 1,20,39,644, while the death toll increased to 1,61,843 with 291 fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed. The 291 new fatalities include 108 from Maharashtra, 69 from Punjab, 15 from Chhattisgarh, 12 each from Kerala and Karnataka, and 11 each from Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

View more
How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

View more
Show

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,13,55,993, while the case fatality rate has further dropped to 1.34 percent, the data stated.

A total of 2,60,653 doses of coronavirus vaccines were administered in India on March 28, the health ministry's latest provisional report has said, even as infections continue to spike in the country. Of these, 2,18,798 beneficiaries were given the first shot, while 41,855 healthcare and frontline workers received their second doses, the report said. With this, more than 6.05 crore beneficiaries have been vaccinated for COVID-19 in the country so far.

Follow our full coverage on COVID-19 here.

Moneycontrol News
first published: Mar 29, 2021 11:16 am