India records 1,61,386 new COVID cases, daily positivity rate drops to 9.26%

According to the most recent health ministry data, India's active COVID caseload stands at 16,21,603. The active cases account for 3.90% of all infections, whereas the national Covid-19 recovery rate is 94.91%.

The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said that 1,61,386 new COVID-19 cases had been detected in the previous 24 hours on Wednesday. Notably, 1,733 persons have died due to the deadly infectious virus, bringing the total number of fatalities to 4,97,975. According to the most recent health ministry data, India's active COVID caseload stands at 16,21,603. The active cases account for 3.90% of all infections, whereas the national Covid-19 recovery rate is 94.91%.

According to Union Health Ministry statistics updated at 8 am today, the number of persons who have recovered from the coronavirus sickness has risen to 3,95,11,307, with 2,81,109 patients recovering in the previous 24 hours. According to the health ministry, the daily positivity rate was 9.26%, while the weekly positivity rate was 14.15%. As per preliminary statistics, India's COVID-19 vaccination coverage has surpassed 167.29 crores (1,67,29,42,707) with the delivery of more than 57 lakh doses (57,42,659) COVID vaccine doses in the previous 24 hours.

Meanwhile, with recent statistics showing a dramatic spike in coronavirus-related mortality worldwide, the World Health Organization (WHO) has urged governments who are beginning to suspend Covid-19 safeguards to do so gradually and steadily.

"Since the Omicron variant was discovered just ten weeks ago, about 90 million cases have been reported to the WHO, which is more than the total number of cases recorded in 2020. We are currently witnessing a very concerning increase in fatalities in most parts of the world," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, stated during a news conference.

On Wednesday, Zydus Cadila began providing Covid-19 vaccinations to the Centre. Zydus Cadila vaccine costs Rs 265 per dosage, while the applicator costs Rs 93 per dose, excluding GST. Last year, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) awarded the ZyCoV-D vaccine restricted emergency use authorization. Zydus Cadila's DNA vaccine is a three-dose vaccination manufactured in Ahmedabad.