A record single-day jump of 12,881 Covid-19 cases took India's tally to 3,66,946 on Thursday, while the death toll climbed to 12,237 with 334 new fatalities, according to the Union health ministry data.

From June 1 till 18, the country saw a surge of 1,76,411 coronavirus infection cases with Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh remaining among the top ten states accounting for the rising tally of Covid-19.

The country had recorded a massive spike of 2,003 deaths on Wednesday following a data reconciliation exercise carried out by states which brought to the fore large number of fatalities previously reported in Maharashtra and Delhi which were not attributed to the disease.

In the last two days, India's Covid-19 fatality rate has risen from 2.8 to 3.3 per cent now.

The number of active cases as on Thursday stands at 1,60,384, while 1,94,324 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, according to the updated figure at 8 am.

"Thus, around 52.95 per cent patients have recovered so far," an official said.

The total number of confirmed cases include foreigners.

India registered over 10,000 cases for the seventh day in a row.

Of the 334 new deaths reported till Thursday morning, 114 were in Maharashtra, 67 in Delhi, 48 in Tamil Nadu, 27 in Gujarat, 18 in Uttar Pradesh, 12 in Harynana, 11 in West Bengal, eight in Karnataka, six each in Punjab and Madhya Pradesh, five in Rajasthan, three in Bihar, two each in Jammu and Kashmir and Andhra Pradesh.

Chhattishgarh, Jharkhand, Puducherry, Telangana and Uttarakhand reported one Covid-19 fatality each.

India is the fourth worst-hit nation by the pandemic after the US, Brazil and Russia.

According to the Johns Hopkins University, which has been compiling Covid-19 data from all over the world, India is at the eighth position in terms of the death toll.

Of the total 12, 237 deaths, Maharashtra accounted for the highest 5,651 fatalities followed by Delhi with 1,904 deaths, Gujarat with 1,560, Tamil Nadu with 576, West Bengal with 506, Madhya Pradesh with 482, Uttar Pradesh with 435, Rajasthan with 313 and Telangana with 192 deaths.

The Covid-19 death toll reached 130 in Haryana, 102 in Karnataka, 90 in Andhra Pradesh, 78 in Punjab, 65 in Jammu and Kashmir, 44 in Bihar, 26 in Uttarakhand, 20 in Kerala and 11 in Odisha.

Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh have registered 10 deaths each, while Assam and Himachal Pradesh have recorded 8 deaths each.

Puducherry has reported 7 deaths, Chandigarh 6 while Meghalaya, Tripura and Ladakh have reported 1 fatality each, according to the health ministry.

More than 70 per cent deaths took place due to comorbidities, the ministry said.

Maharashtra has reported maximum number of cases at 1,16,752 followed by Tamil Nadu at 50,193, Delhi at 47,102, Gujarat at 25,093, Uttar Pradesh at 14,598, Rajasthan at 13,542 and West Bengal at 12,300, according to the health ministry's data.

The number of Covid-19 cases has gone up to 11,244 in Madhya Pradesh, 8,832 in Haryana, 7,734 in Karnataka, 7,071 in Andhra Pradesh and 6,942 in Bihar.

It has risen to 5,675 in Telangana, 5,406 in Jammu and Kashmir, 4,605 in Assam and 4,338 in Odisha.

Punjab has reported 3,497 novel coronavirus cases so far, while Kerala has 2,697 cases.

A total of 2,023 people have been infected by the virus in Uttarakhand, 1,895 in Jharkhand, 1,864 in Chhattisgarh, 1,135 in Tripura, 687 in Ladakh, 656 in Goa, 569 in Himachal Pradesh and 552 in Manipur.

Chandigarh has registered 368 Covid-19 cases, Puducherry has 245 cases, Nagaland has 193, Mizoram has 121, Arunachal Pradesh has 99, Sikkim has 70, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu together have reported 57 Covid-19 cases.

Meghalaya and Andaman and Nicobar Islands have registered 44 infections each so far.

"Our figures are being reconciled with the ICMR," the ministry said, adding 8,703 cases are being reassigned to states.

State-wise distribution is subject to further verification and reconciliation, it added.

28-year old Excise employee dies in Kerala

A 28-year old Excise department employee in Kerala died of Covid-19 on Friday, taking the toll due to the disease to 21, officials said.

Sunil KP attached to Mattannur Excise office in Kannur district died at the Medical College Hospital, two days after he tested positive for the virus, a senior health official said.

The Mattannur Excise office has been closed and at least 18 personnel attached to it quarantined following the death Sunil, who was among a team that had nabbed a gang smuggling illicit liquor from Karnataka on June 3, he said.

"We are worried as he is a young man. We had already traced all his contacts including family and had quarantined them. At least 18 Excise officials are also under quarantine," the official told reporters.

Mumbai: App for info on ICU

Amid the Covid-19 crisis, citizens of Mumbai can now get information about the availability of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds and ventilators in hospitals of the city through a new mobile app, mayor Kishori Pednekar has said.

It would help people during emergency situations, she said after launching the Air-Venti app on Wednesday.

"The app would help citizens in finding about the availability of ICU beds and ventilators in Mumbai hospitals," Pednekar told reporters.

The app is connected to the dashboard of the citys disaster control room and its link can also be accessed through the Mumbai civic bodys app, she said.

The Air-Venti app can be downloaded through the Google Play Store, she added.

Meghalaya allows opening of restaurants, salons

The Meghalaya government has decided to allow restaurants, beauty parlours, salons and barbershops to reopen from next week, deputy chief minister Prestone Tynsong said.

The health department and the district authorities will issue guidelines regarding this, he said on Wednesday.

During the review meeting, it was decided to allow restaurants, beauty parlours, salons and barbershops to re- open from June 22, Tynsong told reporters.

In an order, chief secretary M.S. Rao entrusted all deputy commissioners to ensure strict compliance of health- related protocols laid down by the central government.

However, business establishment along the national highways in the state will remain shut until further notice, Tynsong said.

At present, there are 14 active Covid-19 cases in the state and 28 people have recovered, while one died.