India reports 18,599 new COVID-19 cases
By TIOL News Service
NEW DELHI, MAR 08, 2021: WITH 18,599 fresh COVID-19 cases, India reported rising daily infections for the third consecutive day, taking the country's overall tally to 1,12,29,398 confirmed cases so far, said the Health Ministry on Monday.
India's active caseload stood at 1.88 lakh with the States of Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu reporting a surge in daily COVID cases. With 99,205 active coronavirus cases, Maharashtra continues to remain the most-affected State, followed by Kerala with 41,162 active cases.
The six States also account for 86.25 per cent of the new cases reported in the past 24 hours, said the Health Ministry. Maharashtra alone reported the highest daily new cases at 11,141, followed by Kerala with 2,100.
"Centre is regularly holding high-level review meetings with the States and Union Territories (UTs) showing a surge in new daily cases. The Health Secretary is also holding weekly review meetings as part of the Centre's efforts to continuously engage with the States and UTs reporting higher caseload of active cases and those showing rise in daily new COVID19 cases," said the ministry.
India also reported 14,278 recoveries and 97 fatalities over the past 24 hours. The country's tallies reached 1,08,82,798 total recoveries, which translates to a lowered recovery rate of 96.91 per cent. Meanwhile, the death count rose to 1,57,853, which is a 1.41 per cent case fatality rate.
The vaccination drive is in full swing with 2,09,89,010 first and second doses administered to healthcare workers (69.85 lakh), frontline workers (66.09 lakh), those over the age of 60 (31.51 lakh) and those over 45 with co-morbidities (4.80 lakh).
The cumulative samples tested by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) stand at 22,19,68,271, with 5.37 lakh tested on Sunday.