By Asmau Ahmad
India has recorded 170 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Monday morning. The country recorded 163 new Covid cases on Sunday.
According to the Health Ministry, India’s active caseload stands at 2,371. In an official statement, the Ministry further said that the total number of recoveries from the infection has increased to 4,41,47,002 with 221 in the last 24 hours alone. India’s recovery rate currently stands at 98.8 pc.
India’s Daily Positivity rate and Weekly Positivity rate currently stand at 0.20 pc and 0.11 pc respectively.
The Union Health Ministry also informed that 85,282 Covid tests were conducted in the last 24 hours, as on Monday morning, and said that the conducted tests have so far reached a total of 91.21 crores.
Under the Nationwide Vaccination Drive, India has so far administered 220.14 crore Covid-19 Vaccine doses (95.14 cr Second Dose and 22.43 cr Precaution Dose), of which 10,336 doses were administered in the last 24 hours.
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Thursday asked the public not to panic amid the ongoing global Covid surge but be alert and follow the guidelines issued by the Centre.
He added that while Covid would keep mutating and more strains or variants will come to the fore, the citizens shouldn’t be needlessly alarmed and only believe in the information shared by government sources to avoid panic.
Notably, Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla on Sunday lauded India’s fight against the Covid pandemic, saying the government and the healthcare workers contributed largely to tackling the pandemic in the country.
“Everyone is looking at India today our Covid management is one of the major reasons why. It was all possible because of the government, healthcare workers and a common goal to tame the virus,” he said during the inauguration ceremony of Bharti Super Speciality Hospital, Pune.
“I have been all over the world but the Covid situation in India is better than anywhere else. I would urge everyone to stay in India,” he added.
He further informed that their Covovax vaccine will get approval as a booster dose against COVID-19 in the next 10 to 15 days.
Poonawalla told the media persons that the vaccine works very well against the Omicron variant of coronavirus.
