NEW DELHI: India recorded its highest Covid-19 tally in 102 days on Wednesday with 35,886 patients testing positive for the virus as Maharashtra continued to be the worst affected state, accounting for 64% of the daily count in the country.
Maharashtra added 23,179 fresh cases, the highest in six months since September 17 (24,619 cases). With this, Maharashtra reported a 30% increase in cases compared to Tuesday, taking the total caseload of the state to 23,70,507. From March 1-17, the daily cases in the state have risen four times.
The daily case count in several cities in Maharashtra was higher than the total case count of worst affected states like Punjab, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.

For instance, Nagpur (with 2,698 cases) alone surpassed the daily count of the four states, which recorded cases in four digits — Punjab (2,039), Gujarat (1,122), Kerala (2,098), Karnataka (1,275). With 2,698 fresh cases, Nagpur city, for the first time in pandemic, registered more daily cases than Mumbai, which recorded 2,377 cases.
The tally in Mumbai was almost three times the tally on March 1 (855).
Apart from Maharashtra, as many as 17 states and Union Territories on Wednesday logged the highest count of fresh cases since January or earlier.

These were: Punjab (2,039 cases, highest since September 23), Karnataka (1,275, highest since December 9), Gujarat (1,122, highest since December 16), Tamil Nadu (945, highest since December 29), Chhattisgarh (887, highest since January 9), Madhya Pradesh (832, highest since December 31), Haryana (555, highest since December 20), Delhi (536, highest since January 6), Rajasthan (313, highest since January 13), Bengal (303, highest since January 24), UP (261, highest since January 26), Telangana (247, highest since Jan 20), Chandigarh (201, highest since September 26), Himachal (167, highest since January 1), J&K (126, highest since January 17), Uttarakhand (110, highest since January 23) and Puducherry (52, highest since December 2).

According to figures released by the Union health ministry in Delhi, daily new cases in the country are increasing at around 43% week-on-week, whereas a 37% rise in daily new deaths has been recorded.
Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan said data shows that 70 districts in 16 states have registered over 150% increase in cases during March 1-15, whereas the infection is rising at 100-150% in 55 districts in 17 states.
“Most of these districts are in west and north India,” he said, adding that Maharashtra still accounts for 60% of all active cases as well as 45% of new deaths. The average daily new cases are also increasing rapidly in the state. The weekly moving average of new cases shows it has risen from 7,741 cases on March 1 to 13,527 on March 15.

The average test positivity rate at 16.4% in Maharashtra is far higher than the cumulative national average of 5%. On March 1, the positivity rate was at 10.9%. However, the tests to detect the infection have not increased proportionately with the test positivity rate, Bhushan said.
Similarly, in states like Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Delhi and Himachal Pradesh, tests have failed to keep pace with increasing number of cases and positivity rates.

In many states and UTs like Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi and Himachal Pradesh, the share of RT-PCR is also significantly low.
The Centre has advised states witnessing a surge to increase tests in proportion to the positivity rate and also maintain the share of RT-PCR at a minimum of 70%.
The health ministry has also asked states to ensure strict adherence to mask wearing, physical distancing and hand hygiene along with greater vigilance and monitoring at the highest levels for all potential events where crowds gather.