Coronavirus crisis: 16,922 new COVID-19 cases, 418 deaths in 24 hours; highest so far

India has reported 418 deaths and the highest single-day spike of 16,922 new COVID-19 positive cases in the past 24 hours, the Health and Family Welfare Ministry data showed. With this, the total coronavirus cases in India has reached 4,73,105, including 1,86,514 active ones, 2,71,697 recoveries and 14,894 deaths.

As many as 75,60,782 samples have been tested till June 24, of which 2,07,871 samples were tested in the past 24 hours, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said.

Maharashtra continues to be the most affected state in India at 1,42,900 cases, and 62,369 active, 73,792 recoveries and 6,739 deaths.

Delhi's coronavirus tally has also touched 70,390, with active cases topping 26,588 and 41,437 recoveries and 2,365 deaths. New Delhi recorded its highest single-day increase on Wednesday, with more than 3,900 cases.

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Tamil Nadu, which is the third most affected state in India in terms of coronavirus, has reported 67,468 coronavirus cases, including 28,839 active ones and 37,763 recoveries and 866 deaths.

The home ministry has announced around 20,000 additional beds across temporary facilities -- a 10,000-bed facility at a religious centre and around 500 railway coaches turned into wards -- for Delhi. The Centre has also said that armed forces personnel will be deployed at these wards to provide medical care and attention to COVID-19 patients. The Delhi government expects around 5.5 lakh cases by July, for which it'll require around 150,000 beds.

Moreover, the ICMR has approved the 1,000th coronavirus testing laboratory, while the number of RT-PCR tests for detection of the disease crossed the seven million-mark. Out of the 1,000 COVID-19 testing laboratories, 730 are in government setups and 270 laboratories are in the private sector.

With cases rising rapidly, India has become the fourth worst-hit country in the world, behind the United States, Brazil and Russia. In terms of fatalities, India is the 8th most-affected country in the world. Meanwhile, the total number of coronavirus cases in the world has reached 9,532,127, including 485,122 deaths and  5,178,999 recoveries.

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