Covid-19 UPDATES: India’s daily cases count remains above 20k mark for three consecutive days; vaccination approaching 200 crore mark

Adding up to the global spike of Covid-19 cases owing to new emerging variants, India’s daily infection count is hovering above the 20,000 mark for the last three days. At least 20,528 new cases were reported in the last 24 hours in the country with the active caseloads standing at 1,43,449. Active cases now constitute close to 0.35 per cent of the country’s total positive cases, Union Health Ministry data showed.

Here are other Covid-19-related updates in the last 24 hours

Nationwide vaccination programme close to 200 mark

The Health Ministry said 199.98 crore total vaccine doses had been administered so far under the nationwide vaccination drive. More than 3.7 crore first dose of the vaccine was administered to children in the 12-14 age group. Over 71 per cent of the doses have been administered in rural areas.

Positivity rate at 5.23 per cent

The daily positivity rate was recorded at 5.23 per cent and the weekly positivity rate at 4.55 per cent, according to the ministry.The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,30,81,441 while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.20 per cent.

49 deaths in the last 24 hours

The death toll climbed to 5,25,709 with 49 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated. The 49 new fatalities include 17 from Kerala, eight from Maharashtra, six from West Bengal, three each from Karnataka and Punjab, and two each from Assam, Delhi, Jharkhand, and one each from Bihar, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Pondicherry, Tripura, and Uttarakhand. The ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.

Delhi’s positivity rate at 3.48 per cent, two deaths

Delhi recorded 491 fresh Covid cases in the last 24 hours. The positivity rate stood at 3.48 per cent. Two more persons died due to the viral disease, according to data shared by the health department here.

Patients with BA.4, BA.5 variants detected in Pune

Maharashtra reports 2382 fresh Covid-19 cases, 2853 recoveries, and 8 deaths in the last 24 hours. Four patients of BA.4 variant, 8 patients of BA.2.75 variant, and 31 patients of BA.5 were detected in the state, all from Pune.

WHO warns against emerging variants

“We need to be prepared for these #COVID19 waves- each new #variant will be more transmissible & immune evasive- higher numbers infected will translate into greater hospitalizations & sickness. All countries must have a data-driven plan to quickly respond to changing situations,” WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan tweeted.

The weekly report of the World Health Organization (WHO) showed that the number of Covid-19 cases globally has increased for the fifth week in a row. During this period, the trend started declining following the peak in March 2022.