India recorded 81,466 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, highest since October 2020, taking the total tally to 1,23,03,131 on Friday. The country has been recording a spike in cases for over three weeks. Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Punjab, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh are logging steep rise in daily new cases.

The active cases have now increased to 6,14,696 comprising 5 per cent of the total infections, while the recovery rate has further dropped to 93.89 per cent. The death toll increased to 1,63,396 with 469 daily new fatalities.