Coronavirus: Biggest spike in daily count, India at No. 9 among worst COVID-19-hit countries

• The number of daily coronavirus cases in India hit a new high today
• Maharashtra's COVID-19 tally inched towards 60,000-mark

The number of daily coronavirus cases in India hit a new high as the states had registered over 7,000 coronavirus cases for the first since the outbreak. With this highest spike in daily COVID-19 count, the total number of coronavirus patients in India crossed the grim-milestone of 1.65 lakh.

Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu continued to record high number of COVID-19 case. Several other states — Delhi, West Bengal, Haryana, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh also reported high number of COVID-19 cases.

India overtook Turkey to take the ninth spot among the ten worst-hit country by the deadly virus infection worldwide, according to John Hopkins University.

India's coronavirus death toll topped the number of lives lost in China. The number of deaths in the country increased to 4,659 on Thursday, according to the date released by ministry of health and family welfare. Nearly 57% of the India's 177 causalities on Thursday, came from Maharashtra. The state alone confirmed 85 deaths. Tamil Nadu also witnessed the biggest spike in death to Thursday — at least 12 people succumbed to death. Delhi reported 13 fatalities in last 24 hours.

Maharashtra's COVID-19 tally inched towards 60,000-mark. The state recorded 2,598 cases on Thursday, bringing the total tally to 59,546 in the states. The number of deaths in the state continued to surge significantly even on Thursday. Coronavirus claimed 1,982 lives in Maharashtra. Mumbai alone accounted for over 1,000 deaths.

Tamil Nadu had the most number of coronavirus patients after Maharashtra. The state recorded 19,372 coronavirus cases. On Thursday, over 800 people confirmed positive for coronvirus infection in Tamil Nadu.

Delhi witnessed its biggest spike in daily coronavirus count as over 1,000 people tested positive for the virus. The total number of cases in Delhi stood at 16,281.

The coronavirus cases in the West Bengal are on rise. Over 300 people tested positive in the state, bringing the total tally to 4,536.

India's recovery rate improved to 42.8% today. At least 71,106 coronavirus patients were recovered from the disease. Over 90% of the total coronavirus cases were cured in Punjab. Out of 2,158 patients in Punjab, 1,946 were recovered from the deadly infection.

NITI Aayog member V.K. Paul on Thursday said the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) had recommended hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) as prophylaxis with full responsibility, and as per the clinical protocol the drug might be used for therapeutics also.

The World Health Organisation on Tuesday suspended its solidarity trial of HCQ for coronavirus infection. "It''s not just WHO solidarity test where the HCQ is being tried. Many countries are also doing trials. Its effect in tissue culture is well known and benefits outweigh risks, if any. We with full responsibility have recommended HCQ and given guidelines for its use. We should continue using the drug with precautions prescribed in the guidelines.

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