42,618 Fresh COVID-19 Cases In India, 6% Lower Than Yesterday

Kerala continued to register a record number of infections with the state reporting 29,322 new cases and 131 deaths. The state has reported a test positivity rate of 17.91 per cent.

Worried by the "alarming" situation in Kerala, the Supreme Court on Friday stayed a state government decision to hold offline Class 11 exams. The court ordered the exams be paused for a week, saying: "Children of tender age can't be exposed to the risk (of contracting the virus)".

Maharashtra contributed 4,313 cases and 92 fatalities to India's daily number. There are now 50,466 active coronavirus cases in Maharashtra and the state's case recovery rate stands at 97.04 per cent while the fatality rate is 2.12 per cent.

Delhi's COVID-19 caseload reached 14,37,874 with the national capital reporting 35 new infections in the last 24 hours. No fresh deaths were reported in the city for the third consecutive day, according to data shared by the city health department. This is also the 22nd time since the start of the second wave of the pandemic that the national capital has not seen any deaths in a day. The second wave swept Delhi during April-May.

However, hospitals in the national capital have been reporting a rise in the numbers of patients who have reported recurrence of the mucormycosis after being cured of it. Though there is no particular age group in which these cases are being reported, recurrence of the fungal infection have been mostly reported in diabetic people. 

Active cases constitute 1.23% of total cases, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate stands 97.43 per cent, the Union Health Ministry said. The daily positivity rate now stands at 2.50 per cent.

The cumulative COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country crossed the 67 crore mark. More than 51.88 lakh vaccine doses were administered till 7 pm on Friday. India has been running the largest vaccination drive against COVID-19 since January 16 this year.

The duration of 84 days between 1st and 2nd doses of Covishield vaccine is providing the best protection against COVID-19, the Centre told Kerala High Court on Friday. "India's National COVID Vaccination Program was built on scientific and epidemiological evidence, World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines and global best practices," it said.

The European Union and UK-based drugs giant AstraZeneca have reached a settlement in a dispute over a shortfall in coronavirus vaccine deliveries. The agreement will see the firm deliver the rest of the 300 million doses it promised under contracts with the EU before the end of March 2022, and brings to an end a battle in the Belgian courts.

The coronavirus has killed at least 4,529,715 people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to news agency AFP. The US is the worst-affected country with 642,081 deaths, followed by Brazil with 581,150, India with 439,529, Mexico 260,503 and Peru 198,329.