NEW DELHI: A marginal, yet consistent, rise in daily coronavirus cases has stoked fresh concerns in India even as the country has expanded its vaccination drive to include elderly and people over 45 with comorbid conditions.
Here’s a snapshot of India’s Covid-19 situation in 6 charts
6 states lead Covid surge
Six states — Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat — continue to witness a surge in new infections, accounting for 87% of new cases in the last 24 hours.

The two worst-hit states — Kerala and Maharashtra — account for almost two-third of all active cases in the country. These are the only two states with more than 10,000 active cases, according to health mnistry data.
Similarly, 87% of the 106 deaths reported in the last 24 hours were reported from the same six states.

Maharashtra saw the maximum number of casualties at 62, followed by Kerala (15) and Punjab (7).
Several states report upward trajectory
India on Monday reported 15,510 new cases, with Maharashtra recording the highest daily count at 8,293.
It was followed by Kerala with 3,254 cases while Punjab logged 579 new infections.

Besides Maharashtra, states like Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Gujarat have been witnessing a gradual rise in fresh infections over the last few days.
Situation grim in Maharashtra
With over 8,000 daily new cases for the last 5 days, the coronavirus situation in India’s worst-hit state continues to remain grim.

This, even as the state government and local administrations have started taking various measures to curb the spread of the virus.
The state accounts for almost half of India’s active cases and 58% of daily new deaths.

Chief minister Uddhav Thackery had warned recently that his administration will be forced to impose another lockdown if people do not follow Covid-appropriate guidelines such as wearing of masks or social distancing.
Centre in touch with states
Meanwhile, the Centre has said that it is continuously engaging with the states and UTs reporting higher caseload of active cases and those witnessing a rise in the daily new cases.
The government has advised states/UTs to maintain a continued rigorous vigil for containing the spread of Covid-19.
“Need for effective testing, comprehensive tracking, prompt isolation of positive cases and quick quarantine of close contacts are strongly emphasized,” the health ministry said in a statement.
No fresh deaths in 20 states/UTs
On the positive side, as many as 21 states/UTs have reported less than 1,000 active cases in the last 24 hours. Arunachal Pradesh has reported no active cases in the last 24 hours.
The government said that twenty states/UTs did not report a single death due to Covid-19 in the last 24 hours.

These are Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Puducherry, Assam, Manipur, Sikkim, Mizoram, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Lakshadweep, Meghalaya, Ladakh, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Uttarakhand, Daman and Diu & Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
Vaccination drive kicks off
Meanwhile, India has started the second phase of its Covid-19 vaccination drive which will cover people who are over 60 years of age and those over 45 with certain ailments.
In pics: Politicians lead India’s vaccination drive
Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the second phase of India’s vaccination drive from the front after he took the first dose of Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin earlier in the day. He was followed by several political leaders, including Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and Odisha chief minister Naveen Patniak.
The health ministry has said that a total of 1,43,01,266 vaccine doses have been administered to beneficiaries through 2,92,312 sessions.
Out of these, 24,56,191 have been fully vaccinated, i.e. have received both shots of the vaccine.