The country saw the highest single-day jump of 15,968 Covid-19 cases and 465 fatalities, taking the infection tally to 4,56,183 and the death toll to 14,476, according to the Union health ministry data.

India registered over 14,000 cases for the fifth day in a row and witnessed a surge of 2,65,648 infections from June 1 till June 24, with Maharashtra, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh remaining the top five contributors to the rising tally.

The number of active cases stands at 1,83,022, while 2,58,684 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, according to the updated figures at 8 am.

"Thus, around 56.71 per cent patients have recovered so far," an official said.

The total number of confirmed cases include foreigners.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a cumulative total of 73,52,911 samples have been tested up to June 23 with 2,15,195 samples being tested on Tuesday.

Of the 465 new deaths reported till Wednesday morning, 248 were in Maharashtra, 68 in Delhi, 39 in Tamil Nadu, 26 in Gujarat, 19 in Uttar Pradesh, 11 in West Bengal, nine each in Rajasthan and Haryana, eight each in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, four each in Punjab and Madhya Pradesh, three in Telangana, two each in Jammu and Kashmir, Odisha and Uttarakhand.

Kerala, Bihar and Puducherry have reported one Covid-19 fatality each.

Of the total 14,476 deaths reported so far, Maharashtra accounted for the highest 6,531 fatalities followed by Delhi with 2,301 deaths, Gujarat with 1,710, Tamil Nadu with 833, Uttar Pradesh with 588, West Bengal with 580, Madhya Pradesh with 525, Rajasthan with 365 and Telangana with 220 deaths.

The Covid-19 death toll reached 178 in Haryana, 150 in Karnataka, 119 in Andhra Pradesh, 105 in Punjab, 87 in Jammu and Kashmir, 56 in Bihar, 30 in Uttarakhand, 22 in Kerala and 17 in Odisha.

Chhattisgarh has registered 12 deaths, Jharkhand 11, Assam and Puducherry nine each, Himachal Pradesh eight, Chandigarh six, while Goa, Meghalaya, Tripura and Ladakh have reported one fatality each, according to the health ministry.

More than 70 per cent deaths took place due to comorbidities, it said. Maharashtra has reported the highest number of cases at 1,39,010, followed by Delhi at 66,602, Tamil Nadu at 64,603, Gujarat at 28,371, Uttar Pradesh at 18,893, Rajasthan at 15,627 and West Bengal at 14,728, the ministry data said.

The number of Covid-19 cases has gone up to 12,261 in Madhya Pradesh, 11,520 in Haryana, 10,002 in Andhra Pradesh, 9,721 in Karnataka and 9,553 in Telangana.

It has risen to 8,153 in Bihar, 6,236 in Jammu and Kashmir, 5,831 in Assam and 5,470 in Odisha.

Punjab has reported 4,397 novel coronavirus infections so far, while Kerala has 3,451 cases.

A total of 2,535 people have been infected by the virus in Uttarakhand, 2,362 in Chhattisgarh, 2,185 in Jharkhand, 1,259 in Tripura, 932 in Ladakh, 921 in Manipur, 909 in Goa and 775 in Himachal Pradesh. Chandigarh has recorded 418 Covid-19 cases, Puducherry 402, Nagaland 330, Arunachal Pradesh 148 and Mizoram has 142 cases.

Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu together have reported 120 Covid-19 cases.

Sikkim has 79 cases, Andaman and Nicobar Islands 50, while Meghalaya has recorded 46 cases so far.

"Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research," the ministry said, adding 8,141 cases are being reassigned to states.

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

Health workers wait for transport outside a hospital in Jammu, Tuesday, June 23, 2020 AP

TN expert panel members tests negative

A member of the Tamil Nadu government's expert committee on Covid-19 who had gone on a self-quarantine following "high risk exposure" said on Wednesday that her husband has been cured of the virus while she has tested negative for the pandemic.

Taking to Twitter, Prabhdeep Kaur said she has also compeleted a 14-day quarantine.

"Such a relief that my husband recovered from #COVID19, I was negative and completed 14 days home quarantine; thanks to all who supported us in this tough phase specially supportive staff of @DoHFWTN (TN Health dept)," she said in the tweet.

"...may god give strength to all families going through this crisis," she added.

Kaur, a medical doctor and epidemiologist is a scientist with ICMR-National Institute of Epidemiology here and she is a member of the 19-member panel set by the state government. The committee was set up by the government to advise it on handling the pandemic.

12 INS Shivaji sailors test positive

At least 12 trainee sailors of the Lonavala-based INS Shivaji, one of the premier training establishments of the Indian Navy, have so far tested positive for coronavirus, officials said.

The naval establishment, spread over 800 acres in the hill town of Lonavala in Maharashtra's Pune district, houses a population of nearly 5,000.

Out of these, 3,000 are naval personnel, including officers, sailors, trainees and other staff. The rest include their family members, a senior naval officer said.

The first Covid-19 case was found on June 18 and the infected cadet was part of a batch of 157 trainee sailors who had reported back after leave following the easing of lockdown earlier this month, a release issued by the naval station on Tuesday said.

Ambulance assistant dies

A 22-year old ambulance assistant succumbed to Covid-19 on Wednesday at a hospital in Coimbatore, becoming the first victim to the viral infection in nearby Tirupur, health department sources said.

The youth, who was working in Tirupur district's 108 ambulance service at Avanashipalayam, though died here, the fatality would figure in that district as he was living and working there, they said.

The young emergency services worker became the first fatality in Tirupur district, which as on Tuesday had nil deaths, only four active cases and of the total 120 positive patients 116 were discharged following treatment in various health facilities.

Admitted on June 18 at the ESI Hospital, he died early on Wednesday without responding to nearly a week's treatment, sources said.

1st suspected virus patient in isolation coach

The Railways-modified isolation coaches parked at the Shakur Basti Station in New Delhi received the first suspected Covid-19 patient on Wednesday, officials said, adding around 15 more are expected to arrive.

All of the patients are suspected cases of coronavirus, they said.

Around 50 such modified coaches are currently stationed at the Shakur Basti Railway Station's maintenance depot.

Each coach has the capacity of 16 beds.

First patient arrived at Shakur Basti Covid Care Center of Railways in New Delhi. We are committed to provide all necessary help in this fight against Covid-19, railway minister Piyush Goyal tweeted.