Written by SusmitaPakrasi | Edited by Meenakshi Ray, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON AUG 13, 2021 09:21 AM IST
The vaccination drive has been increased through the availability of more vaccines.
India recorded 40,120 new cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in the last 24 hours, which pushed the nationwide tally to 32,117,826, and its death toll climbed to 4,30,254 with 585 daily fatalities, according to the Union ministry of health and family welfare on Friday.
Active cases of Covid-19 declined to 385,227 in the same period, according to data released by the health ministry at 8am. The number of people who have recuperated from the coronavirus disease surged to 31,302,345, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.34 per cent, it said. The national Covid-19 recovery rate improved to 97.45 per cent.
As many as 19,70,495 Covid-19 tests were conducted on Thursday, taking the total number of tests so far to 48,94,70,779, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). The health ministry informed that the cumulative Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in the country have exceeded 528.9 million.
More than 540.4 million Covid-19 vaccine doses have been provided to states and Union territories so far, and 1,09,83,510 additional doses are in the pipeline, the Union health ministry said on Thursday.
The new phase of universalisation of Covid-19 vaccination began on June 21. The vaccination drive has been increased through the availability of more vaccines. The government has been supporting the states and Union territories by providing them Covid-19 vaccines for free. The health ministry stated that the vaccination exercise as a tool to protect the most vulnerable population groups in the nation from Covid-19 continues to be regularly reviewed and monitored at the highest level.
Experts have predicted a possible third wave of Covid-19 could hit the nation by the end of this month. The recent spike in Covid-19 cases has been mostly led by the highly transmissible Delta variant of the coronavirus.
(Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news)