A year on from lockdown, India reports worst day for Covid-19 in months

A health worker takes a nasal swab sample of an arriving passenger for a mandatory Covid-19 coronavirus Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) at a railway terminus in Mumbai

* India adds 46,951 new infections, most since early November * Deaths rise by 212 deaths, biggest increase since early Jan * Demand for vaccination increases as cases rise * India widens interval between doses of AstraZeneca shot India reported its most Covid-19 cases and deaths in months on Monday, on the first anniversary of the start of a chaotic nationwide lockdown that left many people jobless and shrank the economy. Authorities reintroduced some curbs to slow the spread of the virus, especially in the western state of Maharashtra, which accounted for nearly two-thirds of the 46,951 new infections and the majority of the 212 deaths. Some hospitals in the country's worst-affected districts have begun to run short of beds, and there is a rising clamour for the immunisation campaign to be widened to cover more people, instead of just the elderly and those suffering from other health conditions.