India added 54,069 new coronavirus cases over the last 24 hours while deaths from COVID-19 rose by 1,321. The country's overall caseload now stands at 3.82 crore, while total fatalities are at 3.91 lakh, according to the health ministry.
Kerala contributed 12,787 cases to the country's daily numbers. It was followed by Maharashtra (10,066 cases) and Tamil Nadu (6,596 cases).
India's test positivity rate (positive cases identified for every 100 tests) continues to decline. For the 17th straight day it is below the 5 per cent-mark at 2.91 per cent.
Meanwhile, amid worries of a possible third Covid wave, along with the emergence of a Delta Plus variant in parts of the country, one of India's top doctors and genome sequencer has brushed aside concerns of this new mutant fuelling an upsurge in infections. Dr Anurag Agarwal, Director of the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), also advised caution against lowering the guard on the second wave itself.
"At this point, there is no evidence to suggest that Delta Plus...has anything to do with a possible third wave," Dr Agarwal told NDTV.