INDIA RECORDS 16,311 NEW COVID CASES, LOWEST IN 6 MONTHS

With 16,311 new infections reported in the last 24 hours on Monday, India recorded the lowest one-day Covid-19 figure in over six months taking India’s overall tally to 1,04,66,595.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said 161 deaths were reported in the past 24 hours taking the death toll to 1,51,160. Since the last 17 days, less than 300 new deaths have been recorded in the country. As per the ministry data, till now, 1,00,92,909 have recovered. Currently, there are 2,22,526 active cases. The recovery rate stands at 96.43 per cent while the fatality rate is 1.44 as per cent.

The total number of samples tested up to January 10 are 18,17,55,831 including 6,59,209 samples tested on Sunday, the Indian Council of Medical Research said.

With tally at 10,467,676, India accounts for the second-highest cases of Covid-19 infections globally. The five most affected states in terms of total cases are Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala.

The national capital recorded 306 new Covid-19 cases, the lowest in over seven months, and a positivity rate much below 1%. This is also the eighth time the count of daily cases is below the 500-mark in January. The infection tally in Delhi stands at 6.3 lakh, and the death toll is 10,666 after the addition of 13 more fatalities.

Maharashtra reported 2438 fresh coronavirus cases, 4286 recoveries, and 40 deaths in the last 24 hours. Total cases stand at 19,71,552, while total recoveries reach 18,67,988 in the state. The death toll so far has been recorded at 50,101. Active cases stand at 52,288.

Punjab recorded 304 new Covid-19 cases which took the state’s tally to 1,69,033, while six more fatalities pushed the death toll to 5,445. There are 2,933 active coronavirus cases in the state. Of the fresh cases, 84 were reported from Mohali, 36 from Patiala, and 34 from Jalandhar among other districts. A total of 312 Covid patients were discharged, taking the total number of cured people to 1,60,655. So far, 41,01,234 samples have been collected for testing.

With 661 Covid-19 cases and six deaths reported in the last 24 hours, Chhattisgarh’s caseload rose to 2,89,231 and toll to 3,490. The number of people who have recovered reached 2,76,774 after 90 people were discharged from hospitals and 542 completed home isolation during the day, leaving the state with 8,967 active cases.

Uttar Pradesh’s coronavirus tally climbed to 593,171 with 699 fresh cases, while the death toll mounted to 8,495 as 13 more people succumbed to the disease. Of the latest fatalities, two were reported from the state capital Lucknow. Lucknow also reported the highest number of fresh cases which is 165.

Kerala reported 3,110 new positive cases and 20 Covid-19-related deaths pushing the caseload to 8,14,258 and the toll to 3,322. One UK returnee also tested Covid positive, taking the total number of affected UK returnees to the state to 54. Andhra Pradesh reported 227 fresh coronavirus cases, 289 recoveries, and one death in 24 hours. The state completed 1.23 crore sample tests so far that turned out a gross 8,84,916 confirmed positives of coronavirus at the rate of 7.18%.

Jammu and Kashmir recorded 113 coronavirus cases and one death taking the infection tally to 1,22,538 and the toll to 1,910. Of the fresh cases, 56 were reported from Jammu division, and 57 from Kashmir division.