New Delhi: India added 2.68 lakh new Covid cases, raising the tally to 3.67 crore, which included 6,041 cases of Omicron variant reported across 28 states and union territories. The active cases now comprise 3.85 per cent of the total infections.
The national COVID-19 recovery rate has decreased to 94.83 per cent. An increase of 1,45,747 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours, according to the Health Ministry data updated this morning.
The daily positivity rate was recorded at 16.66 per cent while the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 12.84 per cent. The cumulative doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide vaccination drive has exceeded 156.02 crore, the ministry said.
As many as 402 people have died of Covid during the past 24-hour period, according to the Health Ministry.
Maharashtra, one of the worst-hit states by the Covid pandemic, reported 43,211 new COVID-19 cases and 19 deaths linked to the virus on Friday. The state tally of COVID-19 positive patients stands at 71,24,278. There are 2,65,387 active cases in the state.
The positivity rate in Delhi jumped to 30.64 per cent on Friday as the national capital reported 24,383 new Covid cases. More than 75 per cent of those who died due to Covid in the current wave in Delhi were unvaccinated, Health Minister Satyendra Jain said on Friday.
In neighboring Uttar Pradesh – where assembly elections will be held next month – the police have registered a complaint against 2,500 unknown people for violating Covid norms after a massive crowd had gathered in front of the Samajwadi Party office for the joining-in function of two rebel ministers and several MLAs. The tally of active cases in the state stands at 84,440 cases.
In the south, fresh COVID-19 cases continued to rise in Tamil Nadu on Friday as it recorded 23,459 cases thereby pushing the caseload to 28,91,959 while the death toll rose to 36,956 with 26 more fatalities, the Health Department said. Kerala registered 16,338 fresh COVID-19 cases, raising the state’s caseload to 53,33,828.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday appealed to people to follow all COVID-19 related protocols, wear masks and get vaccinated if eligible. Hailing an initiative of elite athletes taking people step by step through the ‘Surya Namaskar’ for fitness and positivity, PM Modi said the ongoing global pandemic has reaffirmed the importance of keeping fit and boosting immunity.
Polish scientists have discovered a gene that they say more than doubles the risk of falling severely ill with, or even dying from Covid-19. The Health Ministry in Warsaw expects the discovery to help identify people who are most at risk from the disease, which has already killed more than 100,000 people in Poland alone. It also plans to include genetic tests when it screens patients for potential Covid-19 infections as soon as the end of June.
Covid cases have been on the rise since late last year due to the fast-spreading Omicron variant, first identified in Botswana and South Africa. The total number of Covid-19 registered worldwide since the start of the pandemic topped 300 million on Friday, according to an AFP count based on official figures.
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