India logged over 3,000 fresh cases of the coronavirus infection, the highest in almost six months, over the past 24 hours, taking the tally of active cases in the country to 13,509, data updated on the Union Health Ministry’s website revealed on Thursday.

According to the health ministry’s data, 3,016 new cases of the Covid-19 virus were registered in the past 24 hours, the highest since October 2 last year when a total of 3,375 cases were recorded.

As per the data, fourteen more people have succumbed to the deadly virus with eight fatalities being reported from Kerala, three from Maharashtra, two from Delhi and one reported by Himachal Pradesh within a span of 24 hours, taking the overall death toll in India to 5,30,862 since the Covid-19 outbreak.

The data, updated at 8 am on the Union Health Ministry’s website, has pegged the daily at 2.73 percent while the weekly positivity has surged to 1.71 percent.

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According to the ministry’s data, the total number of Covid-19 cases in the country since the pandemic started, stands at 4.47 crore (4,47,12,692) while the number of people who have successfully recovered from the viral infection has surged to 4,41,68,321 with the case fatality rate pegged at 1.19 percent.

The data also reveals that 220.65 crore doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in the country so far under the nationwide vaccination drive while over 92 crore Covid detection tests have been conducted since the viral outbreak in 2019.

Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has called a review meeting due to the surge in the number of active Covid cases in the national capital and the spike in daily positivity.

Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said the AAP government closely monitoring the situation and assured Delhiites to not panic as the hospitalization rate was low.

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India saw a single-day rise of 2,151 fresh Covid-19 cases which is the highest in nearly 5 months. With the new cases being logged in the country on Wednesday, the active cases rose to 11,903.

According to the Union Health Ministry data, it was on October 28 when the country recorded a total of 2,208 cases and since then the cases were on a decline. But now the graph of Covid-19 cases is going up day by day.

The country also logged seven fatalities in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll to 5,30,848. Three fatality cases were reported in Maharashtra and Kerala each while one was reported in Karnataka.

The data shows the daily positivity in the country stands at 1.51 percent, while the weekly positivity is pegged at 1.53 percent. The number of people who have recovered from Covid jumped to 4,41,66,925 with over 1,200 fresh recoveries.

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The country administered 11,336 Covid-19 vaccines in the last 24 hours. India has so far administered 220.65 crore vaccine doses under the nationwide vaccination drive.

Speaking about the booster doses, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said there’s no need for additional Covid-19 vaccine booster doses for regular, medium-risk adults if they have already received their primary vaccination course and one booster dose.

Following the surge in cases, Secretary of the Ministry of Health Rajesh Bhushan held a meeting with officials from various states and reviewed the nation’s Covid-19 preparedness. State authorities have also been told to undertake mock drills at health facilities on April 10 and 11 to ensure the operational readiness of medical infrastructure.

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The number of active Covid-19 cases has surged to 10,981 in India as 1,573 new cases of the coronavirus infection have been registered during the past 24 hours, he Union Health Ministry informed today.

According to the updated data on the Union Health Ministry’s website, the number of active cases in the country increased to 10,981 with four more deaths reported due to the Covid-19 infections raising the death toll to 5,30,841. All four deaths were reported from Kerala.

As per the health ministry’s data, the daily positivity was recorded at 1.30 per cent while the weekly positivity was pegged at 1.47 percent, adding that the active cases now comprise 0.02 per cent of the total infections, while the national Covid-19 recovery rate has been recorded at 98.79 per cent.

According to the health ministry website, the tally of total number of Covid cases since the viral outbreak has reached 4.47 crore (4,47,07, 525) while 4,41,65,703 people have successfully recuperated from the disease since the pandemic began and the case fatality rate has been recorded at 1.19 per cent.

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The data further revealed that 220.65 crore doses of Covid vaccine have been administered so far under the nationwide vaccination drive.

Meanwhile, the surge in deaths due to the H3N2 variant of the seasonal influenza virus is triggering an outbreak scare in the country.

According to official data, India has recorded at least three deaths associated with H3N2 this season.

Fearing the outbreak of another Covid-19 like pandemic, health officials have urged people to wear masks, practice hand hygiene and get a flu shot if they haven’t already. H3N2, is a subtype of the influenza A strain, responsible for one of the three respiratory pandemics in the past century.

The flu variant’s symptoms tend to be the same as other forms of influenza, including fever or feeling feverish, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, muscle or body aches, headaches, fatigue, vomiting and diarrhea (more common in children than adults), among others.

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