India reports 7,579 new COVID cases and 236 deaths in last 24 hours

India reported 7,579 new COVID-19 cases and 236 deaths in the last 24 hours, data from the union ministry of health confirmed on Monday. India’s infection tally now stands at 3,45,10,413, with the death toll pushed to 4,66,147. Active cases have declined by 4,859 to 1,13,584 – the lost tally in 535 days. They comprise 0.33% of the total caseload, which is the lowest since March 2020. 

Also Read | Protests erupt over COVID-19 rules in Austria, Italy, Croatia

12,202 patients recovered from the infection in the last 24 hours, taking the country’s total recovery tally to 3,39,46,749. The national recovery rate stands at 98.32%, the highest since March 2020. According to data from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a total of 63,25,24,259  samples have been tested for COVID-19 across the country so far. 7,83,567 samples were tested on Monday.

Also Read | We’ll see: Novak Djokovic on his Australian Open participation amid vaccine mandate

The daily positivity rate stands at 0.79% and has stayed below 2% for the last 50 days. The weekly positivity rate has been recorded at 0.93% and has stayed below 2% for the last 60 days. An additional 71,92,154 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine were administered in the last 24 hours across the country. India’s cumulative vaccination tally has now reached 1,17,63,73,499. India’s mass vaccination campaign was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 16. 

Also Read | CDC recommends COVID-19 vaccine booster shots for all adults

Of the 7579 new cases, 12,202 recoveries & 236 deaths in the last 24 hours, Kerala reported 3698 cases, 7515 recoveries and 75 deaths. India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19. India crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 and three crore on June 23.