25,072 New Covid Infections In India, Active Cases Lowest In 155 Days

Kerala contributed 10,402 cases in the past 24 hours to take the total number of those affected in the state by the viral infection to 38,14,305. The southern state has been contributing to more than 50 per cent of new infections in the country. Kerala has a test positivity rate of 13.63 per cent.

Maharashtra, the worst-hit state in the country, reported 4,141 new infections and 145 fatalities in 24 hours.

Delhi reported zero daily deaths due to the virus for the third consecutive day on Sunday. Twenty-four new cases of the infection were reported in the national capital, while the positivity rate stood at 0.04 per cent, according to the health department, reported news agency PTI. This is the 13th time since the beginning of the second wave of the pandemic that Delhi has logged zero fatality due to the disease in a day.

Active cases in Andhra Pradesh have dropped below the 15,000-mark to 14,677. The state reported 1,085 fresh cases of coronavirus, 1,541 recoveries and eight deaths in 24 hours ending 9 am on Sunday.

The daily positivity rate remains less than 3 per cent for the last 28 days and is presently at 1.03 per cent. Active cases constitute 1.20% of total cases, the lowest since March 2020, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate stands 97.63 per cent, the Union Health Ministry said.

India's COVID-19 vaccination coverage has reached 58 crore with 44 lakh vaccine doses administered till Saturday evening. The country is aiming to inoculate all eligible adults by December.

India has granted emergency use approval for Zydus Cadila's COVID-19 vaccine, the world's first DNA shot against the coronavirus, in adults and children aged 12 years and above. The approval gives a boost to India's vaccination programme, which aims to inoculate all eligible adults by December, and will provide the first shot for those under 18, as the country still struggles to contain the virus spread in some states.

The Railways has suffered losses amounting to ₹ 36,000 crore during the coronavirus pandemic, Union minister Raosaheb Danve said on Sunday. "Only goods trains generate revenue. During the pandemic, these trains played an important role in carrying goods and providing relief to people," the minister added.

Meanwhile, China on Monday reported no new locally transmitted cases of COVID-19 for the first time since July, offering more signs that the current outbreak which began late last month may be tapering off soon.

Coronavirus cases worldwide have surpassed the 200 million-mark. Cases are rising in about one-third of the world's countries, many of which have not even given half their population a first dose.