PremiumAs many as 3,52,991 more people tested positive for Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, taking the cumulative caseload to 1,73,13,163, said the Union health ministry on Monday morning.
The figure marks another jump in the daily cases in India, which has been reporting the highest cases in the world.
Premium Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Bihar and West Bengal are displaying an upward trajectory in daily Covid-19 new cases, the ministry said.
Maharashtra continues to be the biggest contributor to the daily tally. The state reported the highest daily new cases at 67,160 on Sunday. It was followed by Uttar Pradesh with 37,944 while Karnataka reported 29,438 new cases.
The number of fatalities in India is reaching a record high too, with 2,812 more people succumbing to the disease in the last 24 hours. With this, the death toll across the country has reached 1,95,123.
A total of 2,19,272 were discharged from various hospitals in the same duration. The total number of recoveries now stands at 1,43,04,382.
As a result, the active tally in the country saw a huge leap in the last 24 hours, breaching the 28 lakh mark. There are 28,13,658 active cases in India currently. The number stood at 26,82,751 on Sunday.
Tests conducted so far
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Premium Premium India has tested 27,93,21,177 samples for Covid-19 to date, said the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
Out of these, 14,02,367 samples were tested on Sunday.
Vaccinations in India
The country had administered 14,19,11,223 anti-Covid shots so far.
With the third phase of the vaccination drive about to roll out from 1 May, the central government has issued a set of guidelines for the states regarding systematic implementation of the drive.
Addressing a letter to officials of all states and UTs, Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan on Sunday stated that necessary preparations need to be made well in advance to ensure that eligible citizens are able to get vaccinated seamlessly.
Regarding the registration for the drive, Bhushan said it will continue to be mandatory for all government and private vaccination centres to register on the CoWIN system, regardless of the source of the vaccine doses.
The eligibility conditions for any health facility for registration as a CVC also remains unchanged.
This means that the facility must have sufficient cold chain equipment and capacity, sufficient room for waiting area and observation post-vaccination, sufficient number of vaccinators, ability to manage AEFI.
Strain on infra
Noting that existing infrastructure “might not be able to cope" with the surge in Covid cases, the Centre on Sunday suggested that states should identify geographies with higher positivity or bed occupancy rate, and take local containment measures for 14 days.
Local containment will primarily focus on restricting the intermingling of people and on three strategic areas of intervention, which include containment, clinical management and community engagement, the health ministry said.
Stating the fact that a very high number of daily new Covid cases being reported for the past few days, the Centre said there is an urgent need for states to consider strict Covid management and control measures to bring the situation under control.
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