India’s health ministry announced 81,466 fresh COVID-19 infections overnight on Friday, the highest number since October 2, 2020.
India has a gross caseload of 12.3 million, placing it third in the world after the United States and Brazil.
There were 469 more deaths confirmed in the region, bringing the number to 163,396.
After the spike in new infections, India extended its coronavirus vaccination program on Thursday to cover citizens aged 45 to 60.
The health ministry declared that public and private vaccine clinics will be open every day in April, even public holidays, in a “significant step to exponentially expand the countrywide vaccination drive”, the health ministry said.
