India’s Covid-19 tally rose to 1,12,62,707 with 17,921 fresh cases being reported in a day, the Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday. Of the new cases, 13,659 cases were reported from Maharashtra, which marked the state’s highest one-day spike this year and took its caseload to 22,52,057.
Data has shown that daily cases in India have risen by over 50 percent since mid-February.
The death toll also increased with 133 new fatalities, according to the ministry’s data. The 133 new fatalities include 56 from Maharashtra, 20 from Punjab and 16 from Kerala. A total of 1,58,063 deaths have been reported so far in the country, which includes 52,556 from Maharashtra, followed by 12,525 from Tamil Nadu, 12,373 from Karnataka, 10,928 from Delhi and 10,281 from West Bengal.
The Health Ministry stressed that more than 70 percent of the deaths were caused due to comorbidities.
However, according to data, the death rate has, in fact, registered a sharp drop with the case fatality rate coming down to less than half of what it was since the start of the pandemic.
The case fatality rate for India stands at 1.40 percent currently, the data stated, adding that the number of people who have recuperated from the disease has also surged to 1,09,20,046, which translates to a national Covid-19 recovery rate of 96.96 percent.
The number of active cases have also reduced to 1,84,598, which now comprises 1.64 percent of the infection count.
According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 22,34,79,877 samples have been tested up to March 9 for the viral disease, including 7,63,081 on Tuesday.
“Our figures are being reconciled with the ICMR,” the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.
The Health Ministry also stated that a total of 2,52,89,693 vaccine doses have been given so far as part of the nationwide immunisation programme. Of these, as many as 71,70,519 healthcare workers have received the first dose and 39,77,407 the second.
Meanwhile, 70,31,147 frontline workers have taken the first shot and 5,82,118 have received the second shot against the virus.
In the second phase, which began on 1 March, as many as 9,29,359 beneficiaries aged 45 and above with specific comorbidities and 55,99,143 beneficiaries more than 60 years old were given their first dose.
Even after a sluggish start, India’s Covid-19 vaccination drive, which is among the world’s biggest, has jumped nearly four-fold in the second phase.
As many as 20,19,723 Covid-19 vaccine shots were administered to beneficiaries in India between Monday and Tuesday. This is the most number of vaccinations that have been carried out in the country in 24 hours.
With over nine lakh Covid-19 vaccine doses being administered on Wednesday, as many as 2.52 crore beneficiaries have now received their doses against the virus since the vaccination drive was rolled out on 16 January.