Total 4 crore people vaccinated against coronavirus so far
At 39,726 coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, India witnessed the sharpest surge in Covid-19 infections since November last year, taking the total tally to 1,15,14,331. Meanwhile, total 4 crore people have been vaccinated against corona as on Friday.
A single-day spike of 41,810 new infections were recorded on November 28 last year. The country has registered an increase in the cases for the ninth consecutive day. Maharashtra, Kerala, and Punjab are recording the highest daily cases, while the death toll is at 1,59,370 with 154 more people dying in the last 24 hours.
The fatality has reached 1,59,370 in India. The active caseload has mounted to 2,71,282.
With the discharge of 20,654 patients in a day, a total of 1,10,83,679 have been discharged so far. A total of 10,57,383 tests were done on Thursday.
Total 3.9 crore doses of corona vaccine have been administered in the country since the drive began on January 16 after approval for ‘Covishield’ and ‘Covaxin’, said a senior official from the Union Health Ministry earlier.
More than 17.83 lakh doses were administered on a single day on Thursday. States like Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh continue to report a surge in the daily Covid-19 cases, accounting for over 80 per cent of the new infections, he said.
The Ministry also said that India’s total active caseload has increased to 2,71,282 and comprises 2.82 per cent of the total infections.
A net rise of 18,918 cases have been recorded in the total active caseload in a span of 24 hours.
Maharashtra continues to report the highest daily new cases at 25,833 which is 65 per cent of daily cases. It is followed by Punjab with 2,369 while Kerala reported 1,899 new cases, the official said. A total of 39,726 new daily cases were reported in a span of 24 hours.
Eight States including Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka and Haryana are displaying an upward trajectory in daily new cases.
The Centre is actively engaging with all State and UT Governments, especially those showing an upsurge in daily new cases and with a high caseload of active cases, he said.
“States and UTs have been advised to improve testing in districts reporting a reduction in testing and increase the overall share of RT-PCR tests (more than 70 per cent), especially in districts dependent on high levels of antigen testing in line with the ‘Test Track and Treat’ strategy of the Government.”
They have also been advised to carry out an average close contact tracing of minimum of 20 persons per positive case (in the first 72 hours) along with isolation and early treatment of serious cases as per clinical protocol.
Besides, nearly 4 crore (3,93,39,817) vaccine doses have been administered through 6,47,480 sessions, as per the provisional report till Friday 7 am.
Saturday, 20 March 2021 | PNS | New Delhi
