While Jharkhand and Maharashtra each reported one death, Kerala reconciled two.
New Delhi:
India recorded the highest number of daily Covid cases in more than four months, with more than 800 cases recorded in the past 24 hours. According to the Union Health Ministry, there were 841 new infections and active cases have now climbed to 5,389.
Here’s a 10-point cheat sheet for the big story:
-
Official figures updated at 8am on Saturday showed the country’s caseload rising to 44.6 crore (4,46,94,349).
-
While Jharkhand and Maharashtra each reported one death, Kerala reconciled two.
-
Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Gujarat have the highest number of virus cases, the data showed.
-
India’s daily average of new Covid cases has increased sixfold in a month. The average daily new cases was 112 a month ago (February 18) and now (March 18) is 626.
-
Active cases now represent 0.01% of total infections. According to the Ministry of Health website, the national COVID-19 recovery rate is 98.80%.
-
The number of people who recovered from the disease jumped to 4,41,58,161 with a case fatality rate of 1.19%.
-
According to the ministry’s website, 220.64 crore doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in the national vaccination campaign.
-
The center has sent letters to six states saying they should focus on containing sudden increases in virus infections. Union health minister wrote to Maharashtra, Gujarat, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka states on Wednesday asking them to emphasize testing, treatment, tracing and vaccination .
-
In a letter to six states, the Department of Health said the high number of cases reported in several states indicated possible localized transmission of infection and that a risk-assessment-based approach was needed to prevent and control infection without losing the number of cases achieved to date. Achievements in the fight against the pandemic.
-
Health Minister Rajesh Bhushan also wrote a letter to the states and union territories on Saturday, noting that some states are seeing a gradual rise in Covid test positivity. He called it a concern and said it needed to be addressed promptly.
