Coronavirus in India: Record 126,789 new cases reported in last 24 hours

• India reports a record-high 126,789 new COVID-19 cases.
  
• Deaths in India rise by 685, taking the tally to 166,862.
  
• India’s overall caseload reaches 12.9 million.
  

As the country struggles to contain a second surge in coronavirus infections, India reported a record-high 126,789 new COVID-19 cases, health ministry data showed on Thursday.

Deaths rose by 685, taking the tally to 166,862, the data showed.

India’s overall caseload reached 12.9 million, the third most affected globally, behind the United States and Brazil.

Read more: In an alarming sign, India reports record 115,736 new coronavirus cases in single day

India, the world's second-most populous country with 1.35 billion people, has administered 80.9 million vaccine doses, the most after the United States and China, but it lags far behind in immunisations per capita.

Healthcare and similar frontline workers, as well as people over 60, have been the main recipients of vaccinations so far. Inoculations of people above 45 began only on April 1.