India records 86.4 lakh new COVID-19 cases with over 44K new infections 

With 44,281 new coronavirus infections and 512 deaths in the past 24 hours, India's overall tally stood at 86,35,921 on Wednesday as the toll touched 1,27,571, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said. Currently, there are 4,94,657 active cases, whereas 80,13,783 patients have been cured and discharged so far. The recovery rate stands at 92.69 per cent, and the fatality rate is 1.48 per cent, the Ministry said.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) conducted 11,53,294 sample tests on Tuesday, taking the total tested samples to 12,07,69,151. Though Maharashtra continued to be the worst-hit state with 96,437 active cases and 45,325 Covid-19 deaths, it was Delhi's fresh cases of the day that leaped past the western city's daily figures. On Tuesday, the national capital reported 7,830 new coronavirus cases and 83 deaths, the highest ever single-day tally since the onset of the pandemic.

The other worst hit are Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh. The overall global coronavirus cases has surpassed the 500-lakh mark, while deaths have surged to 12,70,171, according to Johns Hopkins University.