India records 18,599 new Covid cases, 97 fresh fatalities
Nearly 17L vaccine doses given in a single day
NEW DELHI: New cases of Coronavirus infection in India were recorded above 18,000 for the third consecutive day taking the total tally of COVID19 cases to 1,12,29,398, according to the Union Health ministry data updated on Monday.
The active cases also registered an increase for the sixth consecutive day and the COVID-19 active caseload increased to 1,88,747 which now comprises 1.68 per cent of the total infections. The recovery rate has dropped further to 96.91 per cent, the data stated.
A total of 18,599 new infections were registered in a day, while the death toll increased to 1,57,853 with 97 daily new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.
On January 29, 18,855 new infections were recorded in a span of 24 hours. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,08,82,798 which translates to a national COVID-19 recovery rate of 96.91 per cent, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.41 per cent.
Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu are the six states that cumulatively account for 86.25 per cent of the new cases reported in the past 24 hours, the Health Ministry said on Monday.
Meanwhile, India on Monday registered the highest single-day vaccination as the country reported 16,96,588 doses of jabs in a day that took the total nationwide inoculation doses to over 2.26 crore till 9 pm on the 52nd day of the vaccination drive that commenced on January 16.
As per the Health ministry’s provisional report, a total of 2,26,85,598 vaccine doses have been given till 9 pm on Monday.
“Of the total, 70,41,584 healthcare workers (HCWs) have taken the first dose, while 37,12,906 HCWs have taken the second dose. A total of 67,73,081 frontline workers (FLWs) have been administered the first dose of the vaccine while 3,13,835 FLWs have been given the second dose,” it said, adding that 41,85,274 beneficiaries more than 60 years old and 6,58,918 beneficiaries aged 45 and above with specific comorbidities have been vaccinated till date.
Chhattisgarh Health minister T S Singh Deo and Revenue minister Jaisingh Agrawal have tested Covid positive, amid the ongoing Budget session of the state Assembly.