Covid update: India's new cases remain below 1 lakh for second day, positivity rate at 4.67%
Premium- As many as 19,85,967 samples were tested on Tuesday
- New fatalities saw a slight increase too with 2,219 more people succumbing to the disease
As many as 92,596 people tested positive for Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, the Union health ministry said on Wednesday.
This marks a slight uptick in the new reported cases after falling to a 63-day low of 86,498 on Tuesday. The positivity rate now stands at 4.67%. India has recorded a positivity rate below 10% for 16 consecutive days now.
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The cumulative caseload has reached 2,90,89,069.
The new fatalities saw a slight increase in the last 24 hours too, with 2,219 more people succumbing to the disease.
The number stood at 2,123 on Tuesday. With this, the death toll due to Covid-19 in the country has climbed to 3,53,528.
On the brighter side, India has outnumbered newly reported cases once again with 1,62,664 people getting discharged between Tuesday and Wednesday. This has taken the total number of discharges to 2,75,04,126.
As a result, the active tally dipped below 12,31,415, decreasing by 72,287 in the last 24 hours.
While the positivity rate in the second wave is now far lower than the first-wave peak, the number of active cases still remains higher than last year, an indicator of the long trail left behind by the second wave.
Tests conducted so far
India has tested 37,01,93,563 samples for Covid-19 until now, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
Out of these, 19,85,967 samples were tested on Tuesday. As many as 18,73,485 tests were carried out in the preceding 24-hour period.
Vaccination in India
The country has so far administered 23,90,58,360 anti-Covid jabs. Among these, 27,76,096 shots were given in the last 24 hours, according to the health ministry.
Amid a shortage in supply, the central government has said that it is in discussion with American pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Moderna over their Covid-19 vaccines.
"Approval to Pfizer and Moderna is under consideration," said Dr VK Paul, member (health) of Niti Aayog.
He informed that Pfizer has indicated its vaccines will likely be available in July.
Further, the central government said that has ordered 44 crore doses of Covid vaccines, which will be available from August. These doses will be delivered between August and December 2021, the Union health ministry said.
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