India Logs 1,690 Fresh Covid Cases In Last 24 Hours, Active Tally At 19,613

India recorded 1,690 fresh Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, as the active caseload stood at 19,613 on Thursday.

A healthcare worker collects sample of an NCC cadet for Covid-19 test

Source : PTI

India logged 1,690 new Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, and the active caseload was recorded at 19,613 on Thursday, according to the Union Health Ministry data. The country's tally of Covid cases now stands at 4.49 crore. The death toll climbed to 5,31,736 with 12 fatalities which include those reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am stated. The national Covid recovery rate was recorded at 98.77 per cent, the ministry said, adding the number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,44,25,250, while the case fatality rate was at 1.18 per cent. According to the health ministry's website, 220.66 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered so far under the nationwide vaccination drive.

The death toll on Wednesday was recorded at 5,31,722 and the number of people who recuperated from the disease surged to 4,44,21,781. The national recovery rate was recorded at 98.77 per cent yesterday, as per the ministry data. According to the ministry's website, 220.66 crore doses of Covid vaccines had been administered till Wednesday under the nationwide vaccination drive.

Covid Cases In Delhi

Delhi on Wednesday recorded 75 fresh Covid-19 infections with a positivity rate of 3.43 per cent and one fatality, according to data shared by the city government's Health department. With this, Delhi's case tally climbed to 20,40,304 and the death toll rose to 26,649, it said. The fresh cases emerged from 2,186 tests conducted the previous day, the bulletin stated. The number of active cases stood at 541, of which 397 patients were in home isolation, according to the bulletin. On Tuesday, Delhi logged 77 fresh cases with a positivity rate of 3.27 per cent and two fatalities linked to the infection. Delhi recorded 37 fresh cases with a positivity rate of 3.89 per cent and two Covid-linked deaths on Monday. 

World Health Organisation Declassifies Covid-19 Pandemic

Meanwhile, last week on Friday, the World Health Organisation (WHO) agreed to declassify the Covid-19 pandemic as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). At its 15th meeting on Covid-19 on Thursday, WHO's International Health Regulations Emergency Committee addressed the pandemic, and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus agreed that the public health emergency of international concern, or PHEIC, proclamation should be lifted.

“For more than a year the pandemic has been on a downward trend,” Tedros stated.

“This trend has allowed most countries to return to life as we knew it before Covid-19,” Tedros said, adding that: “Yesterday, the emergency committee met for the 15th time and recommended to me that I declare an end to the public health emergency of international concern. I have accepted that advice.”

"As we speak, thousands of people around the world are fighting for their lives in intensive care units. And millions more continue to live with the debilitating effects of post-Covid conditions," he stated.