India records 35,178 COVID-19 cases in last 24 hours, 10,000 higher than yesterday

India reported 35,178 new COVID-19 cases and 440 deaths in the last 24 hours, data from the Union Ministry of Health confirmed on Wednesday.

This takes India’s total coronavirus infection tally to 3,22,85,857, with the death toll pushed to 4,32,519. The country now has 3,67,415 total active cases. 

Also Read | COVID-19: Wyoming refuses mask mandate, Texas asks for mortuary trailers

37,169 patients recovered from the infection in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of recoveries to 3,14,85,923. The recovery rate stands at 97.52%, the highest since March 2020. 

India on Tuesday marked another achievement in its fight against COVID-19. The country has successfully administered 56 crore vaccines. 

The government administered 55,05,075 in doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in the last 24 hours, taking the country’s total number of vaccinations to 56,06,52,030.

Also Read: COVID can spread through tears, reveals study

Data from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) confirmed 17,97,559 samples were tested on Tuesday. A total of 49,84,27,083 samples have been tested as of August 17.

India’s weekly positivity rate stands at 1.95%, less than 3% for the last 54 days. The daily positivity rate is at 1.96%, less than 3% for the last 23 days. 

Meanwhile, the United States Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has eased its travel advisory for India, bringing it down to to Level 2: Moderate. 

This comes as India has been witnessing a significant reduction in daily cases. The US had earlier put a Level 4 travel advisory on India, urging citizens not to travel to the country as it was gripped by a fierce second wave of the coronavirus. 

Also Read: Tug of war between Indiana and a firm on COVID-19 contact tracing data

At the height of the second wave, India recorded over 4,00,000 cases and over 4,500 deaths on a daily basis, both being the highest such tallies in the world. 

India’s caseload of over 3.22 crore is the second-highest in the world, behind only the United States’ 3.67 crore cases. India’s death toll of over 4.32 lakh is the third-highest globally, behind the US’ 6.21 lakh and Brazil’s 5.69 lakh.