India reported 2,51,209 fresh COVID-19 cases today, taking the total number of infections in the country to over 4 crore 6 lakh cases. The new cases reported were 12% lower than yesterday's daily spike of 2.86 lakh cases. The country also recorded 627 new deaths, taking the total number of Covid-related fatalities to 4,92,327.
There are presently 21 lakh active cases in the country. The active cases now comprise 5.18 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has marginally increased to 93.6 per cent. The daily positivity rate - the share of coronavirus tests that return positive and considered a key marker of the pandemic's status - is down from 19.59% to 15.88% while the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 17.47 per cent.
India's COVID-19 vaccination coverage has crossed 164.4 crore doses. 89.1 crore first doses have been administered while 69.9 crore second doses have been provided.
Here are the Highlights on coronavirus cases in India:
Uttar Pradesh reported 7,907 fresh COVID-19 infections on Friday, taking active cases tally to 65,263, and 14 more more deaths raised the death count to 23,139, an official statement said.
The count of total cases stands at 19,96,972.
The World Health Organisation today said that the NeoCov coronavirus, discovered by Chinese scientists, requires further study.
Maharashtra saw the sharpest surge in daily Covid deaths since October 6 - 103 patients died in the last 24 hours in the state with the highest overall cases in the country (76,55,554).
Over 60 per cent of children aged 15-18 years have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Friday.
He also congratulated the children, saying "Young India showed the way".
"Congratulations to all my young friends who have got vaccinated. Over 60 per cent children aged 15-18 years have received their first dose of vaccine against COVID-19," Mandaviya tweeted.
Delhi positivity rate drops to 8.6% from 9.5% in a day; 4,044 new cases today, 5.7% lower than yesterday
Jammu and Kashmir on Friday recorded 4,354 new Covid cases as the infection tally rose to 4,24,085, while five more fatalities in the last 24 hours pushed the death toll to 4,647, officials said.
Of the fresh cases, 1,440 were from the Jammu division and 2,914 from the Kashmir division, they said.
Chennai police commissioner Shankar Jiwal on Friday tested positive for COVID-19, police said.
Following the test result, he has isolated himself at his residence.
The total number of calls received on the Covid helpline, enquiring about availability of beds, vaccination programme, e-passes and other details, fell from 2,041 on January 12 to 983 on January 25, according to official data.
These figures were shared during the meeting of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on containment of COVID-19, held on Thursday.
According to data about the '1031' Covid helpline run by the Delhi government, 180 channels are active which is sufficient to handle 8,000 to 10,000 calls a day.
India recorded 2,51,209 cases in the past 24 hours, 12 per cent lower than yesterday's 2.86 lakh daily spike. 627 new deaths have also been reported. The Covid positivity rate has dropped from 19.5 per cent to 15.8 per cent.
Schools and colleges in Tamil Nadu, shut due to concerns over the coronavirus cases, will reopen on February 1, the state government announced today. The night curfew too has been lifted from tomorrow.