India records 34,703 new COVID-19 cases, lowest in nearly 4 months

India
recorded 34,703 fresh cases of COVID-19 as well as 553 fatalities in the last 24 hours, data
from the health ministry confirmed on Tuesday. With this, India’s total caseload stands at 3,06,19,932, while the death toll has been pushed to 4,03,281.

There are 4,64,257 active cases in the country, with actives cases comprising 1.52% of total cases. 51,864 patients were discharged in the last 24
hours, taking the total number of recoveries to 2,97,52,294. India’s recovery rate now stands at 97.17%. 

According
to data from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 16,47,424 samples were tested
on Monday, taking the total number of samples tested so far to 42,14,24,881.  

India’s cumulative vaccine doses administered so far has crossed the 357 million-mark, second in terms of number of
vaccinations, behind China, which has administered over 1.3 billion doses so
far. The United States is third in the list, with over 328 million doses
administered.

India’s
drug regulator approved the Moderna vaccine last week, making it the fourth
vaccine to be rolled out in India following AstraZeneca’s Covishield, Bharat
Biotech’s Covaxin and Russia’s Sputnik V.

Also Read | Fully vaccinated, yet tested COVID positive? Here is what you should do

Meanwhile, India
has been witnessing a gradual decline in cases after a ferocious second wave
over the summer, which crippled the country’s health infrastructure. India shattered
global records in daily cases and deaths, crossing the 400,000 and 4,500-mark
respectively – despite experts saying the numbers were a gross undercount.

India’s
caseload crossed 20 lakh on August 7 last year, 50 lakh on September 16, 1
crore on December 19, 2 crore on May 4, and 3 crore on June 23.