Coronavirus: India reports 8,309 new COVID cases; vaccination drive exceeds 122.41 crore

India reported 8,309 new Covid-19 cases on Monday, pushing the coronavirus cases tally to 3,45,80,832, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare data. Meanwhile, 236 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll to 4,68,790. The daily rise in new coronavirus infections has been below 20,000 for 52 straight days and less than 50,000 daily new cases have been reported for 155 consecutive days now.

With this, the active caseload in the country has now reached 1,03,859, which is the lowest in the last 544 days, comprising 0.30 per cent of the total infections, the lowest since March 2020. In the past 24 hours, 9,905 people recovered from the disease, pushing the total recoveries to 3,40,08,183. The national recovery rate at 98.34 per cent, according to the Health Ministry.
 

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) data, India has conducted 64.02 crore tests in the last 24 hours. The cumulative doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide Covid-19 vaccination drive has exceeded 122.41 crore, said the Union Health Ministry.

India has altered its international travel advisory amid concerns regarding a new variant of Covid-19 'Omicron' which has already impacted international travel. International passengers travelling to India will have to submit a Covid-negative report and share their travel history for the previous 14 days before boarding a flight, while those coming from the Omicron-hit countries will have to carry out mandatary Covid-19 test on arrival in India and stay in an isolation facility if tested positive, the Union Health Ministry said on Sunday in new guidelines.