India's Positivity Rate Up From 16% To 19.5%; 2.86 Lakh New Cases

With the addition of 2.86 lakh cases reported today, the Covid tally in India - the second worst-hit country after the US - now stands at 4.03 crore.

The active cases have decreased to 22,02,472 and now comprises 5.46 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has decreased to 93.33 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 up from 16.10% to 19.59% while the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 17.75 per cent.

India's COVID-19 vaccination coverage has crossed 163.84 crore dose. At least 72 per cent of India's adult population is fully vaccinated whereas around 52 per cent of children in the 15-18 years old age group have been inoculated with the first dose of Covid vaccine.

As many as 573 people have died of Covid during the past 24-hour period, according to the Health Ministry. At least 60 per cent of the patients who died during the current wave of Covid pandemic were either partially or fully unvaccinated.

The daily infections in Maharashtra were up by 35,756 in the last 24 hours, while deaths linked to the infection remained high at 79, the state health department said.

Delhi on Wednesday logged 7,498 fresh Covid cases, a jump of over 24 per cent from the day before. The positivity rate was at 10.59 per cent. The active caseload in the national capital stands at 38,315.

In neighbouring Haryana, Covid-related restrictions have been extended till February 10 6,351 fresh cases surfaced. The state government, however, allowed malls and markets to remain open till 7 pm, extending the relaxation by one hour.

In the south, Kerala logged 49,771 fresh COVID-19 cases on Wednesday taking the caseload to 57,74,857. The tally on the number of people killed due to the virus in the state rose to 52,281 with 140 COVID-19-related deaths being registered.

New COVID-19 infections in neighbouring Tamil Nadu dropped below 30,000 as it added 29,976 cases on Wednesday, pushing the caseload to 32,24,236. New COVID-19 infections have been hovering over 30,000 over the last few days and Tamil Nadu has been witnessing a declining trend after reaching a peak of 30,744 cases on January 22.

The world recorded more than two million daily coronavirus cases on average between January 1 and 7 with figures doubling in 10 days, news agency AFP reported. The virus has killed over 5.4 million people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019.