Coronavirus India Updates: Active Cases Remain Above 1.8 Lakh Amid Government’s Vaccination Push
Follow all developments around the Covid-19 outbreak in India here.
India’s active coronavirus infections remained above the 1.8-lakh-mark as the central government urged states to accelerate their vaccination drive and assess why cases have been on the rise.
Authorities detected 14,492 new cases in 24 hours, according to the Health Ministry’s update as of 8 a.m. on March 7. That’s higher than the 14,392 recoveries in the same period. There were 100 deaths in the same time.
Key Figures:
- Total number of confirmed coronavirus cases: 1,12,06,580
- Active cases: 1,80,304
- Cured/discharged/migrated: 1,08,68,520
- Deaths: 1,57,756
- Fresh cases in the last 24 hours: 14,492
- One-day recoveries: 14,392
- One-day deaths: 100
Covid-19 cases in India have surged recently, sparking fears of another wave. However, the government on Saturday asserted that over 80% of these cases were concentrated in five states—Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh.
States and union territories witnessing high active caseloads were asked by the central government to increase vaccinations and continue with the 'test-track-treat' strategy. In a meeting held on Saturday, they have been asked to collaborate with private hospitals to open up vaccination time-table for a minimum of 15 days and maximum of 28 days at a time.
The Centre has also rushed high-level multi-disciplinary public health teams to Maharashtra and Punjab. The teams are being deployed to assist State Health Departments in coronavirus surveillance, control and containment measures, the health ministry said on Saturday.
The teams will visit hotspots in the states and ascertain reasons for the surge in cases, the ministry said.
Global Update
Globally, cases passed 116.3 million leaving over 2.5 million people dead.
New cases in the U.S. eased but overall infections and hospitalizations remain high, falling just recently to the levels of the surge last summer. The U.K. is expanding its vaccination program, a signal that it is on track to meet its targets, with about 1.7 million people aged 56 to 59 invited to book an inoculation.
