India logged 41,195 new coronavirus infections taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 3,20,77,706, while the active cases increased to 3,87,987, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday.
The number of deaths climbed to 4,29,669 with 490 fresh fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.
The active cases increased after registering a decrease for five consecutive days. They now comprise 1.21 per cent of the total infections, the ministry said, adding the national COVID-19 recovery rate stands at 97.45 per cent.
An increase of 1,636 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.
As many as 21,24,953 tests were conducted on Wednesday taking the total cumulative tests conducted so far for detection of COVID-19 in the country to 48,73,70,196.
The daily positivity rate was recorded at 1.94 per cent. It has been less than three per cent for the last 17 days, the ministry said, adding the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 2.23 per cent.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 3,12, 60,050, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.34 per cent, the data stated.
Cumulatively, 52.36 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered under the nationwide vaccination drive.
Here are the highlights on coronavirus (COVID-19) cases:
The WHO on Thursday urged China to share raw data from the earliest Covid-19 cases to revive the pandemic origins probe -- and release information to address the controversial lab leak theory.
The World Health Organization stressed it was "vitally important" to uncover the origins of the worst pandemic in a century, which has killed at least 4.3 million people and battered the global economy since the virus was first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019.
West Bengal on Thursday reported 747 new COVID-19 cases which pushed the tally to 15,36,446, a bulletin issued by the health department said.
Ten new COVID-19 fatalities pushed the death count to 18,268, it said.
Of the 747 new cases, 88 were recorded in North 24 Parganas followed by 77 in Kolkata and 74 in Darjeeling.
WHO's chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan on Thursday said even though vaccines may not be able to provide absolute protection against different variants of SARS-CoV2, it can certainly reduce the risk of death and complications.
The World Health Organisation's chief scientist said there will be a need to be on guard in the months to come as well.
She called on Science and Technology minister Jitendra Singh and discussed various aspects of the current COVID-19 pandemic as well as a wide range of other issues.
The Maharashtra education department has put on hold its decision to reopen schools after objections from its task force on Covid.
The plea seeks investigation regarding the spread of coronavirus in India and it's alleged origin from China.
Emphasising the importance of mass Covid vaccination through easy availability and accessibility, WHO's chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan today said even though vaccines may not be able to provide absolute protection against different variants of SARS-CoV2, it can certainly reduce the risk of death and complications, reported news agency PTI.
Researchers say they're making progress in understanding a clotting disorder linked to Covid-19 vaccines that they describe as very rare but potentially "devastating".
Auditoriums and swimming pools in West Bengal can operate at 50 per cent capacity from Sunday, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced today, as the state extended COVID-19 restrictions till August 31, with some relaxations.
Israel is to require Covid tests from next week for children as young as three to enter schools, swimming pools, hotels or gyms as infections surge despite extensive adult vaccinations.
In a reply to a petition in Bombay High Court in the matter of door-to-door vaccination drive for bed-ridden people, the BMC on Thursday informed the court that of the 4,889 people who registered for the campaign, 1,317 were vaccinated till August 9.
Telangana today registered 453 Covid cases, taking the tally to over 6.51 lakh while the death count stood at 3,836 with three more casualties, reported news agency ANI.
The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation accounted for the highest number of cases with 69 new infections, followed by Karimnagar district, a state government bulletin said.
The number of active cases now stands at 8,137.
1,857 Covid cases in Karnataka in 24 hours - marginally more cases than yesterday; positivity rate rises to 1.15%
Israel is to require Covid tests from next week for children as young as three to enter schools, swimming pools, hotels or gyms as infections surge despite extensive adult vaccinations.
The famed Jagannath temple in Odisha's Puri reopened on Thursday in the first phase after remaining shut for over three months amid the COVID-restrictions.
The Bombay High Court on Thursday said it was encouraging to note that not a single bed-ridden person, who was administered the COVID-19 vaccine at home by the Mumbai civic body, showed any adverse reaction to the jab.
A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice G S Kulkarni said it was satisfied that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) was moving in the right direction with regard to reaching out to bed-ridden people to give them the vaccine, and said all other civic bodies and district councils in the state should follow suit.
The door-to-door vaccination drive began as a pilot project in Mumbai on July 30.
The BMC on Wednesday submitted an affidavit in the HC, saying 4,889 bed-ridden people registered for home vaccination so far and out of them, 1,317 were given the jabs.
New Zealand plans to allow quarantine-free entry to vaccinated travellers from low-risk countries from early next year as part of a phased reopening of its borders that were shut last year due to the pandemic, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Thursday.
Ardern said the government will move to a new individual risk-based model for quarantine-free travel from the first quarter of 2022 that will establish low-, medium- and high-risk pathways into the country.
The cumulative COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has surpassed the 52 crore mark, the Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday.
India took 85 days to touch the figure of 10 crore. It then took 45 days to cross the 20 crore-mark, and 29 days more to reach 30 crore. The country took 24 days to reach 40 crore from 30 crore and then 20 more days to cross 50 crore vaccinations on August 6. It surpassed the 51 crore-mark on August 9.
