Coronavirus update: India logs in over 2 lakh cases, 3,847 more die

India has recorded 2,11,298 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours. Tamil Nadu recorded 33,764 cases, its highest surge ever while Kerala saw 28,798 cases. Active cases have declined to 24.19 lakh, a reduction of over 75,000 on Wednesday, as per the latest update shared by the Union ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

In the same time, the country also recorded 3,847 deaths reported on Wednesday. While Maharashtra reported record deaths at 1,013 deaths, Karnataka saw 530 and Tamil Nadu 475.

A total of 2,83,135 people have been discharged in the last 24 hours, with 2,46,33,951 being cured from Covid since the onset of the pandemic, the Ministry's update said.

Crossing the milestone of inoculating over 20 crore people, India's total vaccinated tally stand at 20,26,95,874, including 18,85,805 who were administered vaccines in the last 24 hours.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 33,69,69,353 samples have been tested up to May 26 for Covid-19. Of these 21,57,857 samples were tested on Wednesday.

Here're some more updates:

*In a phone call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Emmanuel Macron said that France would continue to stand by India to fight the pandemic together, with more support underway: ANI

*Seeking fast-track approval for its Covid-19 vaccine, American pharmaceuticals major Pfizer has told Indian authorities that the vaccine has shown “high effectiveness” against the novel coronavirus variant prevalent in India, and on people of Indian ethnicity or nationality.

*The Haryana Medical Services Corporation Limited, Wednesday, floated two global tenders for 1 crore Covid-19 vaccine supplements and 15,000 vials of Amphotericin-B injections that are used in treatment of black fungus.

*US FDA gives emergency use approval for GSK-Vir Covid-19 antibody drug

*The first phase of studies into the Covid cure devised by a Krishnapatnam-based herbal medicine practitioner was completed on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the overall global Covid-19 caseload has topped 168.1 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 3.49 million, according to the Johns Hopkins University.