Coronavirus LIVE: India active cases below 170,000; over 3.5 mn vaccinated

Coronavirus update: India witnessed 12,516 fresh fresh cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). The total number of active cases in the country has fallen to 171,968, while the caseload tally stands at 10,733,487. Globally, nearly 102.6 million people have been infected by the virus. The country continues to be second-most-affected globally, and ranks 15th among worst-hit nations by active cases.

The five most affected states by total cases are Maharashtra (2,015,524), Karnataka (937,383), Kerala (905,591) , Andhra Pradesh (887,349), and Tamil Nadu (836,315).

In a move that could accelerate India’s vaccination drive against Covid-19, the government has asked states to start vaccinating frontline workers alongside health workers from the first week of February. So far more than 3.3 million health care workers have been vaccinated across the country. Inclusion of frontline would mean that police personnel, home guards, municipal workers would soon be able to get the jab.

World coronavirus update: Coronavirus cases rise unabated across the globe, with nearly 102.6 million infected by the deadly contagion. While 74,299,138 have recovered, 2,214,227 have died so far. The US remains the worst-hit country with 26,500,252, followed by India, Brazil, Russia and the United Kingdom. However, it terms of the total number of active cases, US tops the charts, followed by France, UK, Brazil and Belgium.

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