A day after reported a slight dip in the number of fresh COVID infections and fatalities, India on Wednesday recorded a massive surge of 362,902 cases and 3,285 deaths, Worldometer showed this morning.

The cumulative caseload stands at 17,988,637 and the death toll from the virus has crossed the 200,000-mark. India now has nearly 3 million active cases. India has been reporting over 300,000 cases daily for almost a week now.

Maharashtra witnessed nearly 900 deaths. The state reported 66,358 new cases, Uttar Pradesh 32,921, Kerala 32,819 and Karnataka 31,830 cases in the last 24 hours. Meanwhile Delhi recorded 24,149 fresh COVID-19 cases and over 300 deaths for 6th day in a row.

The six most affected states by total cases are Maharashtra (4,410,085), Kerala (1,405,655), Karnataka (1,400,775), Uttar Pradesh (1,086,625), Tamil Nadu (1,081,988), and Delhi (1,047,916).

According to a TOI reports, a proposal has been drawn up for a lockdown, with exemptions for a set of defined essential services, in around 150 districts with COVID-19 positivity rate of over 15% as health systems in these areas are seen to be under stress due to the pandemic.

A final decision will be taken by the Centre in consultation with state governments.

-Agencies