Cases of confirmed coronavirus infections rose on Friday by over 1,750, the maximum in a day, to nearly 23,500 with several states including Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Gujarat detecting new patients.

The government, however, took pains to explain that the outbreak was under control and the tally could have reached one lakh by now without a nationwide lockdown.

According to a PTI tally of figures announced by various states and union territories, the number of confirmed cases has reached 23,577 with at least 743 deaths, while nearly 5,000 patients have recovered and have been discharged.

In its 5pm update, the Union Health Ministry put the nationwide tally of confirmed cases at 23,452 -- showing an increase of 1,752 since Thursday -- along with 723 deaths.

The previous highest single-day increase was of 1,540 cases on April 20.

According to the ministry, the number of active Covid-19 cases stood at 17,915 as 4,813 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, which translates into a recovery rate of 20.52 per cent. The total number of cases include 77 foreign nationals.

Since Thursday evening, at least 37 deaths have been reported. Overall, Maharashtra alone has reported 283 deaths, followed by 112 from Gujarat, 83 from Madhya Pradesh and 50 in Delhi.

A four-month-old baby girl became the youngest victim of Covid-19 in Kerala on Friday. She was admitted to the Medical College Hospital in Kozhikode on April 21 with history of fever, cough, breathing difficulties and seizure after being treated at two other hospitals.

Situation alarming in Ahmedabad, Surat, Chennai

The Union Home Ministry flagged that the Covid-19 situation was especially serious in some major or emerging hotspot areas including Ahmedabad, Surat, Hyderabad and Chennai. It also said that violations of lockdown measures reported in some parts of the country pose a serious health hazard to public and may lead to the spread of Covid-19.

The Centre has sent 10 central teams for spot assessment of the Covid-19 hotspot districts across the country, including five new ones -- Ahmedabad and Surat in Gujarat, Thane in Maharashtra, Hyderabad in Telangana and Chennai in Tamil Nadu. Earlier, similar teams were sent for Mumbai and Pune in Maharashtra, Indore in Madhya Pradesh and Jaipur in Rajasthan, besides two teams for West Bengal.

Joint Secretary in the Health Ministry Lav Agarwal said in the last 28 days, as many as 15 districts have had no new case, while there are 80 districts in the country that have not reported any new coronavirus case in the last 14 day.

Experts cite bigger challenge

Several medical experts cautioned that a 'bigger challenge' awaits the country when it gradually move towards exiting the nationwide lockdown.

Some scientists also warned that the trajectory of Covid-19 cases could have plateaued and might even fall for some weeks after the lockdown is lifted but India is likely to see a second wave in late July or August with a surge in the number of cases during the monsoon.

It looks apparent that the trajectory of daily new cases has reached a plateau and eventually it will take a downward fall, maybe for some weeks or even months, Samit Bhattacharya, associate professor at the Department of Mathematics, Shiv Nadar University, told PTI.

Rajesh Sundaresan, professor at Bengaluru's Indian Institute of Science (IISc), said, 'Once we return to normal activity levels, there is a chance that infection may begin to rise again. China is seeing this to some extent post easing of some restrictions on travel.'

India is self-reliant: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed village panchayat heads and members through video conferencing on Friday, saying that the coronavirus pandemic had taught the country 'to be self-reliant and self-sufficient' and not look for solutions abroad.

Modi stressed that every village, district and state should be able to provide for its basic needs. He also applauded rural India for its simple and motivating mantra of 'Do Gaz Ki Doori' to popularise social distancing.

Rajnath holds meet

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh separately directed the country's top military brass to ensure that India's adversaries do not get any opportunity to push their 'evil design' by taking advantage of the country's focus on fighting the coronavirus pandemic, officials said.

Reviewing India's military preparedness at a high-level meeting, Singh also asked the armed forces to avoid wasteful expenditure and make sure judicious utilisation of funds considering the downturn in the economy triggered by the pandemic.