SRINAGAR: India added 31,382 new coronavirus infections taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 3,35,94,803, while the active cases declined to 300,162, the lowest in 188 days, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday. The death toll climbed to 4,46,368 with 318 fresh fatalities, according to the data updated at 8 am.
The active cases comprise 0.89% of the total infections, the lowest since March 2020, while the national Covid-19 recovery rate was recorded at 97.78%, the highest since March 2020, the ministry said.
As many as 15,65,696 tests were conducted on Thursday taking the total cumulative tests conducted so far for detection of Covid-19 in the country to 55,99,32,709.
The daily positivity rate was recorded at 2%. It has been less than 3% for last 25 days. The weekly positivity rate was recorded at 2.07%. It has been below 3% for the last 90 days, according to the ministry. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 3,28,48,273, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.33%.
While the country is witnessing a sustained decline in the number of daily cases but the fear of transmission remains. Therefore, the Central government has asked states to continue with night curfews, weekend curfews, and other restrictions during the festive season to prevent a further surge in the infection.
The Centre has asked the states to closely monitor the case trajectories across all districts daily to identify any early warning signals.
Meanwhile, India’s total vaccination count has increased to 84 crore (84,08,21,190). According to the union health ministry, India has vaccinated around 66% of the 18-plus population with at least one dose of vaccine to date. Whereas 23% of the eligible population has been fully vaccinated.
Yesterday, the Centre issued an advisory to make arrangements for ‘vaccination at home’ for those who have disabilities. With this, differently-abled people and those with restricted mobility will be given Covid vaccine at home.
