India’s Covid case tally below 1L for 3rd day, but Bihar’s backlog deaths take single-day toll to record 6k

India reported 6,148 deaths due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on Thursday —  the highest single-day casualty due to the deadly infection, data for the past 24 hours showed. The high toll was recorded even as India’s infection count remained below the grim 100,000-mark for the third consecutive day. What explains the toll: All deaths reported on Thursday did not take place in the last 24 hours. The record fatality was on account of Bihar revising its figures. Thursday’s numbers reflected 3,951 backlog deaths from the state. Before this, India’s highest-single day toll — at 4,529 —was recorded on 18 May. What’s happening in Bihar: According to reports, the state’s toll saw a close to 73 percent (72.8 percent to be precise) increase after authorities took into account deaths at private hospitals or at residences, and those due to post-Covid complications — which were previously not recorded. “The government undertook the 20-day exercise to audit Covid-19 deaths after the Patna high court flagged irregularities in death figures in Buxar district on May 17. After verification, the state’s Covid-19 cumulative toll jumped to 9,375 on June 8, as against 5,424 reported a day earlier,” a Hindustan Times report said. A CNBC-TV18 report said it was not specified as to when these additional deaths took place, though a breakup was provided for all 38 districts. “Going by the fresh figures, the number of lives lost in the second wave is close to 8,000 and a nearly six times increase in the death toll since April,” it said. Other highlights: • India reported 94,052 cases on Thursday, after daily infections fell below 100,000 on Tuesday for the first time since the beginning of April. On Wednesday too, the infection count was below the grim 100,000-mark. • Tamil Nadu reported the highest 17,321 new cases, Kerala 16,204, Maharashtra 10,989, and Karnataka 10,959. • Bihar reported 3,971 deaths (including backlog), Maharashtra 661 and Tamil Nadu 405. • Three states — all in the northeast — reported a rise in active cases. These are Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura. • Just six states now have over 50,000 active cases. These are Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha. • A total of 33.79 lakh new vaccinations were reported, taking the overall tally to 24.27 crore; 30.66 lakh people received their first dose on Wednesday, while 3.13 lakh got the second dose. • Over 20 lakh new tests were reported with a test positivity rate (TPR) of 4.69 percent (as against 4.66 percent the previous day). TPR, the percentage of positive COVID-19 tests among all such tests performed, was below 5 percent for the third day.