India reported 1.49 lakh new Covid cases today, 13% lower than yesterday. The positivity rate fell to 9.2%. The active cases constitute 3.42 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate decreased to 95.39 per cent, the health ministry said.
Since December, the number of Covid cases has been rising rapidly due to the new variant Omicron. India's active caseload currently stands at 14,35,569.
There were 1,072 Covid-related deaths in the last 24 hours.
2,46,674 recoveries were recorded in the last 24 hours, taking total recoveries in India to 4,00,17,088.
Under the nationwide vaccination drive, 167.87 cr vaccine doses have been administered so far, the health ministry said yesterday.
Here are the Highlights Updates on coronavirus cases in India:
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India World's Third Country To Record 5 Lakh Coronavirus DeathsIndia crossed the grim milestone of 5 lakh COVID-19 deaths on Thursday, becoming the third country in the world to do so after the US and Brazil.
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Those driving alone in their cars in Delhi will no longer need to wear a mask, the national capital's disaster management authority decided today during a meeting to review Covid curbs, according to sources.
The move comes days after the Delhi High Court termed the directive "absurd" and asked why it was still in force.
The court's observation had come when a counsel representing the Delhi government shared an incident of a man being fined for not wearing a mask while sitting in his car along with his mother and sipping coffee with windows up.
The Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands reported more COVID-19 recoveries than fresh cases, as 65 people recuperated from the disease while 23 new infections, pushed the tally to 9,867, a health department official said on Friday.
A total of 9,490 people have recovered from COVID-19 so far, the official said.
The COVID-19 death count in the archipelago remained at 129 as no fresh fatality was reported in the last 24 hours.
Odisha recorded 23 more COVID-19 deaths on Friday, while the infections were the lowest in a month as 2,697 people tested positive, the Health Department said.
The daily positivity rate dropped to 4.4 per cent as 60,762 samples were tested in the past 24 hours, a bulletin stated.
The deaths are the highest since September 1 and the infections plunged by 46 per cent from 5,057 a week ago. The state had logged 3,629 COVID-19 cases and 18 deaths on Thursday.
Japan serious COVID-19 cases crossed 1,000 for the first time in four months, data showed on Friday, as the Omicron variant fuelled record infections and burdened the medical system, reported Reuters.
Seriously ill patients climbed by 131 to 1,042 cases from the day before, the health ministry said, the highest since September when the Delta variant drove a fifth wave of cases.
Japan recorded 96,748 new cases on Thursday. Most regions are now under infection control measures to try to blunt the spread of Omicron that has exploded among a population where less than 5% have received vaccine booster shots.
More than 10.71 crore balance and unutilized Covid vaccine doses are still available with the States, Union Territories to be administered, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare informed on Friday.
The ministry has informed that more than 165.20 crore vaccine doses have been provided to States, Union Territories till date.
"More than 165.20 crore (1,65,20,44,645) vaccine doses have been provided to States/UTs so far through Govt. of India (free of cost channel) and through direct state procurement category. More than 10.71 Cr (10,71,21,576) balance and unutilized COVID Vaccine doses are still available with the States/UTs to be administered," the ministry informed in its official press release.
The death count from COVID-19 crossed 500,000 on Friday, a level many health experts say was breached last year but obscured by inaccurate surveys and unaccounted dead in the hinterlands, where millions remain vulnerable to the disease.
India, which has the fourth-highest tally of deaths globally, recorded 400,000 deaths by July last year after the devastating outbreak from the Delta variant of the coronavirus, according to official data. Some experts believe the figures were much higher.
A comparatively younger population with an average age of 44 years has been infected more in this Covid wave, the government said on Thursday, highlighting there was significantly less use of drugs for treatment this time.
Addressing the weekly press conference, ICMR DG Balram Bhargava said in this Covid wave, sore throat was seen more in the patients.
A slightly younger population having an average age of 44 years was infected more in this wave in comparison to the previous ones, he said.
In the earlier waves, the average age of the section of the population infected was 55 years, Mr Bhargava added.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday poured cold water on sending in the military to clear protestors opposed to Covid vaccine mandates, whose convoy of big trucks are clogging Ottawa's downtown.
The city's police chief, under pressure from local residents weary of harassment and incessant loud honking, had pitched the idea during a briefing the previous day.
"That is not in the cards right now," Trudeau told a news conference, adding that governments must be "very, very cautious before deploying the military in situations against Canadians."
Dr Soumya Swaminathan Interview: Herd Immunity To Fight Covid A "Foolish Idea""Hybrid immunity is the strongest immunity we can have at the moment - Hybrid is when one has been infected with Omicron and has also got the vaccine doses," she said.
