India records nearly 40,000 virus cases, worst daily spike this year

India on Friday recorded nearly 39,726 coronavirus infections, the highest daily rise since Nov. 29, 2020 even as authorities warned against violations of safety measures and prepared for a second virus wave in the country.

India, which at 11.5 million has the largest virus caseload after the U.S. and Brazil, saw a downward trend in infections at the end of 2020 but the numbers have risen sharply in recent weeks.

Fresh infections were nearly 11 per cent higher than on Thursday when the country registered 35,871 cases, data released by the federal Health Ministry showed.

Another 154 deaths took the total number of fatalities to 159,370.

The western state of Maharashtra has mainly contributed to the surge in cases in the country, accounting for 25,833 or 65 per cent of the new infections.

Regional authorities have stepped up efforts to enforce strict safety measures as well as imposing partial lockdowns and restrictions to contain infections.

The spike in cases comes before state elections in populous states like West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Kerala begin next week. Officials had expressed concerns over crowds at election rallies.

Amid the surge in cases, the government is trying to vaccinate and test as many people.

Nearly 40 million doses have been administered so far while more than 230 million samples have been tested for the coronavirus.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Wednesday held a meeting with state chief ministers and stressed that India had to take big, decisive steps to stop an emerging second peak of the pandemic.