India saw a single-day rise of 1,59,632 new coronavirus cases, raising the tally to 3,55,28,004 crore, which included 3,623 cases of Omicron variant reported across 27 states and union territories.
Here are the top 10 updates on coronavirus in India:
The active cases comprise 1.66 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has decreased to 96.98 per cent. An increase of 1,18,442 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours, according to the Health Ministry data updated this morning.
The daily positivity rate was recorded at 10.21 per cent while the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 6.77 per cent, The cumulative doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide vaccination drive has exceeded 151.58 crore, the ministry said.
Over 2 crore teenagers in the age group of 15-18 years have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine in less than a week of the inoculation drive being launched for children. Lauding the feat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday called for continuing the momentum.
With a single-day jump of 616 Omicron cases, India now has 3,623 cases of the new variant of coronavirus. Omicron has been reported in 27 states, with the most cases in Maharashtra with 1,009 cases, followed by Delhi with 513 infections. Out of the total Omicron cases reported so far, 1,409 people have recovered or migrated.
Maharashtra, one of the worst-hit states by the Covid pandemic, has announced a series of fresh restrictions as it logged 41,434 new Covid cases on Saturday -- marginally higher than Friday. Thirteen people died in the last 24 hours – five of them in Mumbai. The country's financial capital reported 20,318 cases in the last 24 hours -- a shade lower than yesterday's 20,971.
Delhi reported 20,181 fresh Covid cases, the highest single-day rise since May last year. The national capital also reported 7 deaths over the last 24 hours. The positivity rate has climbed to 19.60 per cent.
As many as 327 people have died of Covid during the past 24-hour period, according to the Health Ministry. This includes 242 deaths in Kerala in the last few months, added based on pending appeals after the last Supreme Court guidelines.
Despite the rising number of cases and its new variant Omicron in the state, Health Minister Veena George has ruled out a full lockdown. "The economic activities in our state and that of our people cannot be hampered now. We should work together to avoid a complete shutdown in the state. As of now we are not planning any lockdown," she told the media.
The country's R naught value that indicates the spread of the infection was recorded at 4 this week, higher than the 1.69 recorded during the peak of the pandemic's second wave. Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), India's top medical body, has said that "the Omicron variant is the predominant circulating strain".
Covid cases have been on the rise since late last year due to the fast-spreading Omicron variant, first identified in Botswana and South Africa. The total number of Covid-19 registered worldwide since the start of the pandemic topped 300 million on Friday, according to an AFP count based on official figures.
