A health worker collects a swab sample to test for COVID-19 at a train station in Mumbai, India. File/AP

Gulf Today Report

India reported the biggest single-day rise in coronavirus cases in two months on Thursday, as the government reported 47,092 new coronavirus cases and 509 deaths in the last 24 hours.

As many as 35,181 patients recovered across the country from the viral disease in the last 24 hours taking the total recoveries to 3,20,28,825, ANI reported.

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With 509 fatalities, the COVID death toll in the country reached 4,39,529.

India on Wednesday witnessed a surge in new COVID cases with 41,965 fresh coronavirus infections reported in the last 24 hours, taking the total tally to 3,28,10,845, according to the Union Health Ministry's data.

The body of a COVID-19 victim is wheeled in for cremation in New Delhi, India. File/AP

Kerala reported the most (63 per cent) new cases at 19,622 in the last 24 hours, followed by Maharashtra (3,741), Tamil Nadu (1,523), Mizoram (1,157), and Karnataka (973). These five states account for 87 per cent of all the new cases reported in India.

Kerala on Wednesday recorded yet another number of high COVID cases with 32,803 people turning positive from 1,74,854 samples tested in the past 24 hours, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in a statement.

Test positivity rate was 18.76 per cent.

According to health experts, there is no direct indication of a third wave in the country, state-specific waves are seen.

In an interview to a news outlet, Dr Samiran Panda, Head of Epidemiology and Communicable Diseases at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), stated that rising infections in some states are indicative of a third wave.

Dr Vikas Maurya, Director and HOD, Pulmonology, Fortis Hospital, Shalimar Bagh, told IANS that "there are some ongoing conversations around the much-anticipated third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, but I think as India is a large country, we can talk of state-specific waves".

"Delhi had seen a second surge in cases in October-November 2020, when the first wave was already about to end in the country and the second wave did not begin. It's happening the same for Kerala now," he added.