India has reported 34,403 new Covid positive cases and 320 deaths in 24 hours. The active case count has increased to 3,39,056 on Friday, as per the health ministry data. The death toll due to coronavirus has climbed to 4,44,248 while the total number of recoveries have surged to 3,25,98,424. A reduction of 3,867 cases has been recorded in the active Covid-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours, the data showed.
Of the total 34,403 cases reported in 24 hours, Kerala accounts for 22,182 cases. After logging 17,681 on Wednesday, the state has again seen a spike in daily infection count. Almost 68% of the total COVID-19 cases reported in India are from Kerala. Kerala has also reported the highest Covid-related deaths in the country in a day at 178.
The state has inoculated more than five lakh people with Covid-19 vaccine doses in the past 24 hours.
Apart from Kerala, five other states — Mizoram, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra are also witnessing a surge in daily new Covid-19 cases, as per the union health ministry. At the moment, the six states have more than 10,000 active cases.
Dr Balram Bhargava, Director General, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) raised concerns about the upcoming festive season that might create a conducive environment for virus spread.
He urged the states to ramp up the vaccination process and impose strict Covid-19 rules to mitigate the transmission of the virus.
India’s daily positivity rate was recorded at 2.25%. This has been below 3% for 18 days.
And, the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 1.97%. This figure has been below 3% for 84 days now, according to the Health Ministry.
The cumulative number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide vaccination drive has exceeded 77.24 crore, according to the ministry.
