New Delhi: India added 42,982 new coronavirus infections in a single day taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 3,18,12,114, while the active cases increased to 4,11,076, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the Centre on Wednesday advised all states and UTs to actively consider imposing local restrictions for upcoming festivals like Muharram, Onam, Janmashtami, Ganesh Chaturthi and Durga Puja and curbing mass gatherings.
The death toll climbed to 4,26,290 with 533 fresh fatalities.
The active cases comprise 1.29 per cent of the total infections and the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 97.37 per cent, the data updated at 8 am showed.
An increase of 723 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.
India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16.It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.India crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 and three crore on June 23.
As many as 16,64,030 tests were conducted on Wednesday taking the total cumulative tests conducted so far for detection of COVID-19 in the country to 47,48,93,363.
The daily positivity rate was recorded at 2.58 per cent and the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 2.37 per cent, according to the ministry.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 3,09,74,748, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.34 per cent, the data stated.
Cumulative vaccine doses administered so far has reached 48.93 crore under the nationwide vaccination drive.
The 533 new fatalities include 195 from Maharashtra and 108 from Kerala.
A total of 4,26,290 deaths have been reported so far in the country including 1,33,410 from Maharashtra, 36,680 from Karnataka, 34,197 from Tamil Nadu, 25,058 from Delhi, 22,767 from Uttar Pradesh, 18,180 from West Bengal and 17,211 from Kerala.
The ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.
"Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research," the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.
States, UTs asked to consider imposing local restrictions for upcoming festivals
In a letter to chief secretaries and administrators of all states and UTs, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan stated that the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) have expressed concern regarding the potential of such mass gatherings on festivals turning into super spreaders, leading to a spike in Covid cases.
While appreciating their efforts to curb the spread of cases in the country during the second wave of COVID-19, Bhushan said even though the trajectory of daily new cases has shown a steady decline over the last month, there are a few states which still reflect signs of upsurge in their daily cases and positivity.
In this regard he urged the states and UTs to refer to the directions issued under the Disaster Management Act by the Home Ministry on June 29 for focussed containment measures.
"In light of this order, and in view of upcoming festivals such as Muharram (August 19), Onam (August 21), Janmashtami (August 30), Ganesh Chaturthi (September 10), Durga Puja (October 5-15), where large public gatherings are expected, it is advised that states may actively consider imposition of local restrictions in public observation of these festivals and curb mass gatherings," Bhushan said in his letter.
The Centre on Tuesday said that the reproductive number or R-value that indicates the speed at which COVID-19 is spreading is more than one and is showing an increasing trend in eight states and UTs -- Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Lakshwadweep, Tamil Nadu, Mizoram, Karnataka, Puducherry and Kerala -- which is cause of concern.
The R number is a measure that highlights the number of people a coronavirus positive person infects, thereby reflecting the severity of its spread. A number of one or below one indicates a slowly spreading virus while any number above one indicates a rapid spread.
