New Delhi ; India took just six days to jump from 4 lakh to 5 lakh cases as it recorded yet another worst spike of 18, 552 cases on Saturday. The steady rise over the past week saw the nation breach its daily count everyday, with the biggest contributors being Maharashtra and New Delhi, where a mammoth survey will begin on the day to monitor the spread of the pandemic.

The half a million cases stands at exactly 5, 08, 953, the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry data showed. There were slightly lesser fatalities than in the past few days, as 384 new deaths were reported in the last 24 hours taking the toll to 15, 685.

India, the fourth worst hit among 213 countries is close on the heels of Russia, which is behind the US and Brazil.

Maharashtra, Delhi and Tamil Nadu continues at the top of the national chart. There are currently 1, 97, 387 active cases and 2, 95, 880 recoveries. The recovery rate continues to be robust at 58.24 percent.

Maharashtra so far has reported 1, 52, 765 cases, including 7, 106 deaths in contrast to Meghalaya which has 47 cases and one death, the least in the country.

It recorded a spike of 5, 024 fresh cases in last 24 hours. Delhi has 77, 240 cases and 2, 492 deaths, followed by Tamil Nadu with 74, 622 cases with 957 deaths.

States with more than 10, 000 cases include Gujarat with 30, 095 cases and 1, 771 deaths, Uttar Pradesh (20, 943), Rajasthan (16, 660), Madhya Pradesh (12, 798), West Bengal (16, 190), Haryana (12, 884), Karnataka, (11, 005), Andhra Pradesh (11, 489) and Telangana (12, 349) cases.

India conducted 2, 20, 479  Covid-19 tests in the last 24 hours.Meanwhile, the overall number of global COVID-19 cases has topped 9.7 million, while the deaths were nearing 500, 000, according to the Johns Hopkins University.