India's active COVID cases breach 100,000-mark

New Delhi: Witnessing a jump in the new COVID cases, India reported 18,819 in the last 24 hours, an increase of 4,313 infections than yesterday, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Thursday.

The country had recorded 14,506 new COVID cases on Wednesday. With this, the country crossed the 1 lakh active cases mark as it stands at 1,04,555. The active cases on Wednesday were 99,602.

The daily positivity rate in the country also spiked from 3.35 per cent on Wednesday to 4.16 on Thursday.

According to the Ministry, 13,827 COVID patients recovered in the last 24 hours taking the total number of recoveries in the country since the onset of the pandemic to 4,28,22,493.

The recovery rate currently is 98.55 per cent.

39 patients succumbed to the virus during this period. The death toll in the country rose to 5,25,116.

Out of the 86.23 crore COVID tests conducted in the country so far, 4,52,430 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours. The weekly case positivity rate is 3.72 per cent.

Under the nationwide vaccination drive, 14,17,217 COVID vaccines were administered in the last 24 hours. A total of 1,97,61,91,554 vaccines have been jabbed so far.

As part of the nationwide vaccination drive, the Government of India has been supporting the States and UTs by providing them with COVID Vaccines free of cost. In the new phase of the universalization of the COVID19 vaccination drive, the Union Government will procure and supply (free of cost) 75 per cent of the vaccines being produced by the vaccine manufacturers in the country to States and UTs.

Amid the recent surge reported in COVID-19 cases across the country, the Health Ministry of India on June 9 urged States and Union Territories to not lower their guards and strictly maintain the COVID appropriate behaviour. Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan on Thursday wrote a letter to States/UTs and directed them to ramp up RT-PCR testing, surveillance, clinical management, vaccination, COVID-19 protocols and take timely pre-emptive actions. Bhushan also advised the government to follow a ‘five-fold Strategy’.