India coronavirus: Active cases now constitute 1.28 per cent of total cases. (PTI)
India added 43,509 new coronavirus cases over the last 24 hours while deaths from COVID-19 rose by 640. The country's overall caseload now stands at 3.15 crore, while total fatalities are at 4.22 lakh, according to the health ministry.
Kerala contributed 22,056 cases to the country's daily numbers. It is followed by Maharashtra with 6.857 cases.
At least two-third of the population in 11 states have developed coronavirus antibodies, according to the findings of a serosurvey by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
Madhya Pradesh leads the chart with 79 per cent seroprevalence while Kerala is at the bottom with 44.4 per cent. Seroprevalence in Assam is 50.3 per cent and Maharashtra 58 per cent, the findings of the survey done between June 14 and July 6 revealed.
Over 45 crore vaccine doses have been administered in the country so far, the health ministry said. More than 43 lakh vaccine doses were administered on Wednesday, it said.
India's test positivity rate (positive cases identified for every 100 tests) continues to remain below the 5 per cent-mark at 2.38 per cent.
Active cases have increased by 4,404 cases to take the tally to 4,03,840, which is 1.28 per cent of the total infections. The national COVID-19 recovery rate, meanwhile, was recorded at 97.38 per cent.
A third Covid wave in India can be delayed and it may be less severe than the first two waves if Covid-appropriate behaviour is followed and the pace of vaccination is increased, AIIMS chief Dr Randeep Guleria has said.
India is likely to start vaccinating children by September, according to Dr Guleria. "I think Zydus has already done the trials and they're waiting for the emergency authorisation. The Bharat Biotech's Covaxin trials should be over by August or September, and by that time we should get an approval. Pfizer vaccine has been already approved by the FDA (US regulator - Food and Drug Administration). Hopefully, by September, we should start vaccinating children, and that will be a big boost as far as breaking the chain of transmission is concerned," Dr Guleria told NDTV last week.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has announced a three-year travel ban and hefty penalties on citizens who visit countries on the kingdom's COVID-19 red list, including India. "Travelling to the banned countries is an obvious violation of COVID-19 related travel restrictions and the Kingdom's updated instructions," the Gulf News on Tuesday quoted a report by the state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA) as saying.
Nearly 194 million people are affected by COVID-19 worldwide, the World Health Organisation said, adding that infections have risen by 8% in the last week. The number of coronavirus deaths globally jumped by 21% during the period, it said. Most of the 69,000 deaths were reported in the Americas and Southeast Asia.
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