India registered 2,95,557 new COVID-19 cases and 1,981 deaths as of 9.30 p.m. on Friday. The country has so far reported a total of 1,65,52,884 cases and 1,88,910 deaths.
The figures do not include cases and deaths from Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Assam, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Ladakh, Lakshadweep and Sikkim. The data are sourced from covid19india.org, an independent aggregator of daily figures.
For the first time, the number of samples tested in the country crossed the 17-lakh mark, with over 17.4 lakh tests conducted on Thursday (results of which were made available on Friday). For three consecutive days, the number of daily tests has crossed the 16-lakh mark.
Maharashtra reported 66,836 infections, accounting for nearly 24% of the new cases, followed by Uttar Pradesh (37,238) and Kerala (28,447). Maharashtra also recorded 773 casualties, followed by Uttar Pradesh (199) and Karnataka (190).
Coronavirus updates | April 23, 2021
As many as 1,77,841 new recoveries were recorded in the country as of 9.30 p.m..
Nearly 31.47 lakh vaccine doses were administered in the 24 hours ending 7 a.m. on Friday. It is about 9.36 lakh doses higher than what was recorded in the previous 24 hours. Also, it is over 4.17 lakh doses more than what was recorded in the same period one week before.
The daily vaccination rate has been on a declining trend in the past week.
Between April 9-15, India administered an average of 32.69 lakh doses every day. However, as on April 22, the average daily doses given fell to 26.07 lakh.
A daily rate of over 68 lakh doses a day is required to vaccinate all adults in India by the end of 2021.
India continues to lead the world in terms of average daily cases, accounting for one in three cases reported globally every day.
As of April 22, India recorded 2,81,683 cases daily on an average, more than four times the average daily cases detected in the U.S. The latter recorded the second most number of average daily cases — about 61,957.
As of April 22, India recorded the second most number of average daily deaths. Brazil, with about 2,580 average daily fatalities, is leading the world in this category.