The recovery rate in India has increased to 98.72%.
India on Thursday reported a total of 2,528 new COVID-19 cases, taking the total number of infections to 4,30,04,005. While death count rose to 5,16,281 with 149 fresh Covid-related fatalities.
According to the health ministry, the daily positivity rate has fallen to 0.35 per cent, while the weekly positivity rate is 0.42 per cent.
A reduction of 1,106 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours, it said.
The recovery rate in India has increased to 98.72 per cent and the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.20 per cent.
Here are the Highlights on Coronavirus cases in India:
COVID-19: 52 new cases in Telangana
Telangana reported 52 new COVID-19 cases and took the tally to 7,90,689 till date, according to the Department of Health. The recovery rate rose to 99.38 per cent. There were no deaths reported.
A bulletin said 91 people recuperated from the infection. Cumulatively, the number of recoveries was 7,85,840 so far.
Hyderabad reported the most number of cases with 25. The bulletin said 16,241 samples were tested today.
Kerala Reports 847 new COVID-19 cases
As many as 847 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Kerala on Friday. About a 100 Covid-19 patients were admitted to hospital and there were three deaths due to the disease in the last 24 hours. With this, the deaths from the infection in the state has gone up to 67,197.
As per the Kerala health bulletin, 1,321 people recovered from the infection in the last 24 hours in the state. Kerala tested 22,683 samples in the last 24 hours.
Active cases rise as Andhra Pradesh reports 75 fresh COVID-19 infections
Active COVID-19 cases increased by 29 in Andhra Pradesh as the state reported 75 fresh viral infections on Friday.
While no death was reported, 46 infected persons got cured on Friday, the latest bulletin said. The active caseload is now 536.
The total coronavirus cases touched 23,19,141, recoveries 23,03,875 and death toll 14,730, the bulletin added.
Anantapuramu district registered 23, East Godavari 14 and Visakhapatnam 11 fresh cases in the last 24 hours ending at 9 am on Friday.
Maharashtra records 171 COVID-19 cases
Maharashtra reported 171 new COVID-19 cases and three deaths, taking the tally of infections in the state to 78,72,203 and deaths to 1,43,765, a health department official said. So far, 77,22,754 people have recovered from the viral infection in the state, including 394 on Friday.
There are 1,680 active patients in Maharashtra now. The recovery rate stands at 98.10 per cent and fatality rate at 1.82 per cent.
The tally of coronavirus tests carried out so far rose to 7,88,85,405 with 45,201 samples tested since previous evening.
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region (comprising Mumbai and satellite towns) reported 69 new cases during the day.
COVID-19 pandemic is "far from over": WHO official
A World Health Organization spokesperson said on Friday that the end of the COVID-19 pandemic was a long way off, citing a rise in cases in its latest weekly data.
The U.N. health agency has previously said that the acute phase of the pandemic could end this year but it would depend on how quickly we meet its target to vaccinate 70% of the population in each country, among other factors.
Asked by a journalist at a Geneva media briefing about the timing of the pandemic's end, Margaret Harris said it was "far from over". "We are definitely in the middle of the pandemic," she added.
After more than a month of decline, COVID cases started to increase around the world last week, the WHO said, with lockdowns in Asia and China's Jilin province battling to contain an outbreak.
A combination of factors was causing the increases, including the highly transmissible Omicron variant and its cousin the BA.2 sub-variant, and the lifting of public health and social measures, the WHO said.
UK ends COVID-19 international travel restrictions
All remaining COVID-19 pandemic related international travel restrictions, including filling in Passenger Locator Forms before arrival and compulsory pre-departure tests for unvaccinated travellers, have been scrapped from Friday, the UK government has announced.
The change, which had been announced by the Department for Transport (DfT) earlier, came into effect at 4 am GMT (9:30 IST).
The government has said that it will keep a range of "contingency measures in reserve", which would enable "swift and proportionate" action to delay any future harmful variants of COVID-19 entering the country.
"Everything we have worked for, every jab, every test, and the sacrifices made by the whole country means that finally, nearly two years on, we can all travel without bureaucratic restrictions," said UK Aviation Minister Robert Courts.
West Bengal to roll out vaccination drive for children aged 12-14 years from March 21
The West Bengal government will roll out the inoculation drive for children in the 12-14 years age group from March 21 even though the programme was launched across the country on Wednesday, an official said.
The launch of the vaccination drive for children in the state got delayed as "the administration received the standard operating procedures from the Centre late", he said.
The beneficiaries would be administered only Corbevax and they can book their slots online though the facility of on-site registration will also be available, a state government notification said on Thursday.
"(The) COVID-19 vaccination for children in the age group of 12-14 years will start from March 21. Only Corbevax vaccine would be used for the beneficiaries," the notification issued by the state health department said. The department asked vaccinators to ensure that the vaccine is "administered to only those children who have completed the age of 12 years on the date of immunisation".
No new COVID-19 case in Puducherry, active cases down to 11
The Union Territory of Puducherry registered zero COVID-19 cases on Friday and the overall tally of cases remained unchanged at 1,65,766.
In a press release, Director of Health G Sriramulu said no new case surfaced across the UT after examining 348 samples in the last 24 hours. He said the active cases fell to 11 after three patients recovered from the disease. All 11 active cases are currently in home quarantine.
The overall recoveries in the UT stood at 1,63,793.
Sriramulu said there was no fresh fatality on Friday and the death toll remained at 1,962.
The health department has tested 22,25,045 samples so far and has found 18,69,745 samples out of them to be negative. The test positivity rate (TPR) was zero while fatality and recovery rates were 1.18 per cent and 98.81 per cent, respectively.
Maharashtra revels in Holi colours as COVID-19 cases dropHoli was celebrated in a sprightly manner in Maharashtra on Friday for the first time in two years as vast improvement in the coronavirus situation prompted people to come out of their homes for the festival of colours and indulge in revelry.
The COVID-19 outbreak in early 2020 and resultant restrictions had cast a grim shadow on celebrations of all festivals in the state for the past two years.
Things were different this year as citizens were seen celebrating the festival with traditional fervour and enthusiasm.
Hong Kong reports 20,082 new COVID cases
Hong Kong reported about 20,000 new coronavirus cases on Friday as health experts called for a clear way out of a "zero COVID" policy that has left the city isolated.
Densely populated Hong Kong has registered the most deaths per million people globally in recent weeks.
But restrictions, including a ban on flights from nine countries such as Britain and the United States, quarantine of up to 14 days for residents returning to Hong Kong, and the closure of schools, gyms, beaches and other venues, have frustrated many.
3 new Covid cases in Ladakh
Ladakh reported three new Covid cases on Friday that took the infection tally to 28,195, officials said.
The number of active cases stands at 54 -- 52 in Leh and two in Kargil, they said.
According to officials, there was no Covid-related death in the Union Territory on Thursday, which has so far recorded 228 fatalities linked to the pandemic since its outbreak.
India Records 2,528 New Covid Cases, 149 Deaths In 24 Hours
India on Thursday reported a total of 2,528 new COVID-19 cases, taking the total number of infections to 4,30,04,005. While death count rose to 5,16,281 with 149 fresh Covid-related fatalities.