The country recorded 57,471 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday. The total number of infections has reached 4.24 crore, and the active cases have come down to 9.4 lakh.
The figures are based on the State bulletins released until 10 p.m. on Thursday. However, Ladakh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Tripura, Sikkim, Jharkhand, and Lakshadweep had not yet released data for the day.
Kerala recorded 18,420 infections on Thursday, followed by Maharashtra (6,248) and Karnataka (5,019).
On Thursday, 640 deaths were recorded in India, considerably lower than the average levels recorded in the last week. The total number of recorded fatalities has reached 5,06,579.
Kerala reported the most deaths with 341 fatalities (153 were from a backlog), followed by Maharashtra (45) and Karnataka recorded 39 deaths.
On Wednesday, 15.1 lakh tests were conducted (the results for which were made available on Thursday). The test positivity rate (the number of cases detected per 100 tests) was 3.8%.
As of Thursday, 93.7% of the eligible population has been vaccinated with at least one dose, while 72.9% have received both doses. In the 15-17 age cohort, 83.2% of the population have received their first dose. Altogether, 95,58,35,245 first doses, 74,57,96,862 second doses, and 1,56,84,066 booster doses have been administered across India.
Registering further fall in the positivity rate, Andhra Pradesh reported 1,345 fresh COVID-19 cases in 24 hours ending Thursday morning. Four deaths, one each in Chittoor, Krishna, Kurnool and Nellore districts, were reported, against 6,576 recoveries. As many as 26,393 samples were tested, taking the total number of tests conducted in the State so far to 3,27,59,439.
The cumulative positive cases in the State stand at 2307072, against 2251505 recoveries. The total number of active cases is 40884.
Continuing its lead position, East Godavari district reported the highest number of 309 cases, followed by Krishna 184, West Godavari 175, Guntur 132, Visakhapatnam 110, Prakasam 87, Chittoor 83, Kurnool 62, Nellore 58, YSR Kadapa 56, Anantapur 51, Srikakulam 22 and Vizianagaram 16.