India’s daily Covid tally on Saturday remained above the 20,000-mark for the third consecutive day with 20,044 fresh infections in the last 24 hours – taking the total tally to 4,37,30,071. The active cases in the country have surpassed the 1.40 lakh mark – accounting for 0.32 percent of the total cases.
According to the union health ministry, the country registered a total of 56 deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the official count of the fatalities to 5,25,660. A total of 18,301 people have recovered in the last 24 hours – with the recovery standing at 98.48 percent, as per the latest health bulletin.
The daily positivity rate stands at 4.80 percent.
Meanwhile, a total of 4,17,895 samples were tested for coronavirus in the last 24 hours.
India’s vaccine coverage has reached the 199-crore mark. Over 3.79 crore first doses and over 2.60 crore second doses have been administered for the age group of 12 to 14. Over 6.80 crore first doses and more than 5 crore second doses have been given to the 15 to 18 age group, as per the government data. Meanwhile, over 4.52 crore precaution doses (booster shots) have been given to people above 60 years of age, healthcare workers, and frontline workers.
The surge in Covid cases come as the government began free booster shots on Friday. About 92% of Indians who are currently eligible for a third, or booster dose, of the Covid-19 vaccine have not yet taken these shots, Hindustan Times corroborated data in a report.
Meanwhile, amid concerns over fresh Covid waves, a top WHO scientist has sent a note of caution on variants and fresh waves of the virus. “We need to be prepared for these COVID-19 waves- each new variant will be more transmissible, and immune evasive- higher numbers infected will translate into greater hospitalizations and sickness. All countries must have a data-driven plan to quickly respond to changing situations,” Soumya Swaminathan wrote on Twitter on Saturday.