India on Friday recorded 13,083 new cases of COVID-19, the Union Health
Ministry’s data released on Saturday showed. 137 people died of the coronavirus
on Friday.

Till now, India has recorded 1,07,33,131 COVID-19 cases and 1,54,147 deaths.

There are 1,69,824 active virus cases in the country, while 1,04,09,160 have
recovered.

Also read: WHO experts begin investigation to find origin of coronavirus

A total of 19,58,37,408 samples were tested for COVID-19 up to January 29. Of these, 7,56,329 samples were tested on Friday, according to the Indian Council of Medical
Research (ICMR).

India recorded its first virus case on January 30, last year. It is
the second worst-hit country by the coronavirus, which first emerged in the
Chinese city of Wuhan, in late 2019.

On January 16, 2021 the first vaccination drive began in India, and so
far, a total of 35,00,027 people have been inoculated against the virus.

Two authorised vaccine candidates in the country are Covishield
produced by Pune-based Serum Institute of India, and Covaxin – produced by
Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech.

Also read: Johnson &Johnson COVID vaccine 65% effective, weaker against South Africa strain

Covaxin, as of yet, has not been approved for inoculation. Bharat
Biotech had earlier announced in late December that they would be producing the
vaccine on a mass scale in the second quarter of 2021. The company has also
warned people with physical conditions such as Bleeding disorders and fever as
well as pregnant women to not get the jab.