Here are the top 10 updates on coronavirus in India:
The country's caseload now stands at 3.71 crore. This includes 7,743 cases of the Omicron variant which is now present in 28 states.
The active cases now comprise 4.18 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has decreased to 94.51 per cent. An increase of 1,32,557 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 saw a marginal improvement from 16.66 per cent to 16.28 per cent while the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 13.69 per cent. The cumulative doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide vaccination drive has exceeded 156.76 crore, the ministry said.
The 314 new fatalities include 106 from Kerala and 39 from West Bengal. Of the total deaths reported so far in the country, 1,41,779 are from Maharashtra, 50,674 from Kerala, 38,418 from Karnataka, 36,967 from Tamil Nadu, 25,335 from Delhi, 22,953 from Uttar Pradesh and 20,052 from West Bengal.
Maharashtra, one of the worst-hit states by the Covid pandemic, recorded 42,462 new coronavirus infections, 749 less than the day before, besides 23 deaths. The overall caseload now stands at 71,70,483, and the death count at 1,41,779. Also, 125 new Omicron cases came to light in the state during the day, raising the tally of such infections to 1,730.
People purchasing COVID-19 self-testing kits in Mumbai will have to provide their Aadhaar cards to the chemists in order to maintain a record, the city's Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar said.
Delhi reported 20,718 new Covid cases on Saturday, 15.5% lower than the day prior. The positivity rate in the national capital, however, remained at 30.64 per cent for the second straight day. The active Covid caseload stands at 93,407.
Fresh coronavirus cases in Tamil Nadu reached the grim milestone of 24,000 infections in a single day and the new cases in Chennai neared the 9,000-mark. The state on Saturday recorded 23,989 new cases and 11 fatalities. This took the total number of cases reported so far to 29,15,948 and the number of deaths to 36,967.
In the northeast, Assam registered a 44 per cent jump in fresh cases as 3,390 more people tested positive for the infection, which is the biggest single-day spike since June 19 last year. The state has reported a postitivity rate of 9.87 per cent and there are 17,777 active cases.
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, according to an AFP count based on official figures.
Koo AppUpdate on #COVID19 vaccine availability in States/UTs More than 158 Crore vaccine doses provided to States/UTs More than 14.13 Crore balance and unutilized vaccine doses still available with States/UTs Read here: https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1790250 #IndiaFightsCorona- PIB India (@PIB_India) 16 Jan 2022
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