India on Thursday recorded the highest ever single-day spike of 45,720 new Coronavirus cases in 24 hours taking the total number of infections to 12,38,635.

As many as 1,129 fatalities were reported in the same period, also the highest in 24 hours, taking the death toll to 29,861, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare informed.

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Of the total Coronavirus cases, 4,26,167 are active cases while 7,82,606 people have been cured of the infection.

However, as per the Government, case fatality rate has been continuously falling and currently stands at 2.41 per cent.

Meanwhile, the total number of COVID-19 samples tested up to 22 July is 1,50,75,369 including 3,50,823 samples tested yesterday, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has informed.

The recovery rate is 63.18 per cent and positivity rate is 13.03 per cent. However, India is the third worst hit country after the US and Brazil in terms of cases.

The highest spike in cases was reported from Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.

Maharashtra remains the worst-hit state, with 3,37,607 cases and 12,556 fatalities, followed by Tamil Nadu with total 1,86,492 cases, and 3,144 deaths.

Karnataka, the new hotspot state, crossed 75,000 cases.

With 1,227 new Coronavirus cases and 23 deaths in the last 24 hours, the national capital now has a total tally of 1,26,323 cases and 3,719 deaths.

In the wake of rise in Coronavirus infections, several states have once again stepped up alert and declared full lockdown in their cities.

The first of West Bengal’s twice-weekly 24-hour lock down begins today, a day after the state logged the highest number of new cases at 2,291 and the highest number of deaths at 39 in a span of 24 hours.

Meanwhile, the Delhi government has decided to conduct a serological survey every month to find out how many people have developed antibodies from the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It will be done from the first day of the month till the 5th of every month. The next survey in Delhi will be conducted between August 1 and 5.

On the global front, the total number of Coronavirus cases has surpassed the 15.1 million mark, while the deaths have increased to over 621,800, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

As of Thursday morning, the total number of cases stood at 15,166,401, while the fatalities rose to 621,890, the University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed in its latest update.

The US accounts for the world’s highest number of infections and fatalities at 3,967,917 and 143,147, respectively, according to the CSSE.

Brazil comes in the second place with 2,227,514 infections and 82,771 deaths. The country’s President Jair Bolsonaro has tested positive for the novel coronavirus for the third time, indicating that he must remain in isolation.

Amidst concerns, Pfizer, which has struck a nearly $2 billion deal with the US government to deliver 100 million doses of a potential Coronavirus vaccine developed in collaboration with its German partner BioNTech, is hoping to seek regulatory approval for a vaccine “as early as October” this year and have a vaccine on the market by year end.

A “best case scenario” would be approval before year end and a vaccine by year end, according to Pfizer.

US President Donald Trump has called the federal government’s $1.95 billion deal with Pfizer and biotech firm BioNTech “a historic agreement” that will help the country distribute a coronavirus vaccine in record-breaking time.