Covid-19: India sees record rise of 126,789 cases, active caseload tops 900,000
India’s tally of cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) rose by more than 100,000 fresh infections for a third time, with a record 126,789 cases being detected across the country in the last 24 hours, the Union ministry of health and family welfare’s (MoHFW) dashboard showed on Thursday morning. The country’s infection tally has risen to 12,928,574, the third-highest globally, behind the United States and Brazil respectively.
India reported 103,558 cases on April 5 and 115,736 infections on April 7.
In a concerning development, the country’s active caseload crossed 900,000 mark to reach 910,319, rising by 66,846 cases, and comprises 6.59% of the national tally. Also, with 59,258 more people recovering from the viral disease in the last 24 hours, total recoveries have increased to 11,851,393, with the recovery rate standing at 92.11%. Related fatalities, meanwhile, are at 166,862, with 685 more people succumbing to the virus in this period, and constitutes 1.30% of the overall caseload.
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According to the govt-run Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), India’s latest positive cases are from 1,237,781 samples tested by it on April 7, taking the total samples tested by the ICMR to 252,677,379.
The ministry’s dashboard further showed that more than 90 million doses of vaccine against the coronavirus disease have been administered in the country thus far. Total 90,198,673 doses have been administered, the dashboard showed, amid complaints of a shortage of doses in the country. On Wednesday, several states, including the worst-hit Maharashtra, complained of a shortage, inviting a fierce rebuttal from Union health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan, who called this an “attempt to divert attention from slow vaccination drives.”
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Later in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair a virtual interaction with chief ministers as the country finds itself in the grip of a second wave of the pandemic, recording more daily cases than it did during last year’s first wave. Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Modi also received his second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, after his first on March 1.