Covid-19 Making A Comeback? India Reports 1,249 New Cases, Active Count Reaches 7,927

PM Modi recently reviewed the spike in Covid-19 and influenza cases in the country and urged people to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour.

New Delhi: Amid fresh health concerns over the spike in coronavirus cases, India on Friday reported 1,249 new cases of Covid-19 infections, while the active cases rose to 7,927, according to the latest Union Health Ministry data. The death toll has increased to 5,30,818 with one death each reported by Karnataka and Gujarat, the data updated at 8 am stated. The daily positivity was recorded at 1.19 per cent while the weekly positivity was pegged at 1.14 per cent.

The Covid case tally was recorded at 4.47 crore (4,47,00,667). The active cases now comprise 0.02 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has been recorded at 98.79 per cent, the ministry said.

As many as 92.07 crore tests for the detection of Covid have been conducted so far with 1,05,316 tests being conducted in the last 24 hours. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,41,61,922, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent.

According to the ministry's website, 220.65 crore doses of Covid vaccine have been administered in the country so far under the nationwide vaccination drive.

PM Modi Reviews Spike In Covid-19, H3N2 Influenza Cases In India

Amid a recent spike in influenza and Covid-19 cases in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday chaired a high-level meeting and directed officials to enhance genome sequencing while also emphasizing on Covid-appropriate behaviour. 

PM Modi chaired the meeting to assess the COVID-19 and influenza situation in the country in terms of preparedness of health infrastructure and logistics, the status of the vaccination campaign, the emergence of new COVID-19 variants and influenza types and their public health implications for the country, a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said.

This high-level review meeting comes against the backdrop of a spike in influenza cases in the country and rising Covid cases in the past two weeks. During the meeting, a comprehensive presentation was made covering the global Covid situation including the rising cases in India by Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan.

The Prime Minister was briefed that India has been witnessing a slight rise in new cases with average daily cases reported as 888 and weekly positivity reported as 0.98 per cent in the week ending March 22. However, 1.08 lakh daily average cases have been reported globally during the same week.

PM Modi was apprised of the influenza situation in the country, particularly with respect to a higher number of cases of H1N1 and H3N2 being noted in the last few months.

The PM directed officials to enhance whole genome sequencing of positive samples with the designated INSACOG genome sequencing laboratories. This will support tracking of newer variants if any, and timely response, the PMO said.

India on Wednesday recorded 1,134 new coronavirus cases, while the active cases increased to 7,026, according to Union Health Ministry. The death toll climbed to 5,30,813 with five deaths. One death each was reported in Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat and Maharashtra while one fatality was reconciled by Kerala, the Health Ministry data stated.