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Today's Paper | March 17, 2026

Published 15 Apr, 2021 11:53am

India breaches 200,000 daily Covid-19 cases as hospital beds, oxygen fall short

India has reported a record 200,000 new Covid-19 cases and the financial hub of Mumbai entered a lockdown, as many hospitals treating coronavirus patients reported severe shortages of beds and oxygen supplies.

The surge was the seventh record daily increase in the last eight days and comes as India battles a massive second wave of infections that has its epicentre in the economically significant state of Maharashtra, home to Mumbai. The western state accounts for about a quarter of the country's total cases, according to Reuters.

India reported 200,739 Covid-19 cases over the last 24 hours, according to health ministry data. Deaths stood at 1,038, taking the total to 173,123. The total case load reached 14.1 million, only second to the United States, which leads the global tally with 31.4 million cases.

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