India recorded 35,871 COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, of which 23,179 cases were from Maharashtra.
The number of active cases in the country has increased to more than 2.52 lakh.
At least 172 deaths were reported on Wednesday, taking the toll to over 1.59 lakh.
The spike in Maharashtra is close to the peak of 24,886 that the state recorded in September last year.
The next highest caseload reported by a state on Wednesday — Punjab at 2,039 cases — is lower than that of Maharashtra cities such as Nagpur, Pune, and Mumbai.
Punjab is the only major state where the death rate in the second round of infections is higher than in the first.
For the last two days, Punjab has been reporting the second-highest number of deaths in the country, after much bigger Maharashtra. The state reported 38 deaths on Tuesday and 35 on Wednesday.
As many as 70 districts have reported a 150 per cent increase in the number of cases over the past few weeks, Prime Minister Modi told a virtual meeting of Chief Ministers on Wednesday.
Amid the spike, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged states to take “quick and decisive steps” to stop the emerging “second peak” of the Covid-19 pandemic.
For the first time since vaccination was opened up for the general public at the beginning of the month, the Prime Minister flagged multiple concerns emerging from the inoculation drive.
Surjitt Sahani
