NEW DELHI: India reported its highest single-day death toll from the Covid-19 pandemic, reporting 1,099 fatalities on Tuesday. This was the third time that the daily deaths had crossed 1,000. The previous highest toll was 1,008 recorded on August 13.
On Tuesday, the total Covid-19 caseload was recorded at over 27.6 lakh, as per data collated from state governments. The count was a steep rise from 53,230 fresh infections detected on Monday. Evidently, behind the big difference in the numbers of cases within a span of a single day was the rise in testing. The number of tests conducted on Sunday had dropped to 7.3 lakh, which appears to account for the dip in cases the next day.
More on Covid-19

By contrast, nearly 9 lakh tests were done on Monday, resulting in the spike in cases on Tuesday. An analysis of cases and the number of tests in recent days shows the close correlation between the two. Last week, the highest number of tests (nearly 8.7 lakh) was done on Friday, coinciding with the highest number of cases — over 67,000 — being recorded the next day.
Tests dropped to less than 7.5 lakh on Saturday; so did cases the next day to 57,799. On Tuesday, Andhra Pradesh became the third state in the country to cross the 3-lakh mark in total cases. The state recorded 9,652 fresh cases, taking the tally to 3,06,261. Maharashtra reported 422 Covid-19 deaths, its highest single-day toll so far. The state also added 11,119 new Covid 19 cases of which 8.3% or 931 were from Mumbai.
Watch India reports highest single-day toll of 1,099 from Covid-19 pandemic