New Delhi

Delhi government’s decision to make it mandatory for those travelling alone in cars to wear face masks, the Delhi High Court on Wednesday said that masks are like a “suraksha Kavach” for preventing the spread of Covid-19 and that its use have saved “million of lives”.

India recorded 1,15,736 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, the biggest-ever single-day surge since the onset of the pandemic early last year, taking the overall tally to 12,801,785 on Wednesday, according to the Health Ministry.

Active cases crossed the 800,000 mark in the last 24 hours and now stands at 843,473, comprising 6.59 per cent of the total infections.

Reports suggest that India is now the fourth most affected country in the world in terms of active cases.

On Tuesday, the Health Ministry said that the next four weeks will be "very critical".

Also, in the last 24 hours, a total of 59,856 patients recovered, with the recovery rate reported to be at 92.11 per cent.

Meanwhile, the death toll increased to 1,66,177 on Wednesday with 630 new fatalities. The fatality rate stood at 1.30 per cent.