India records 18,819 new COVID-19 infections, 39 fatalities

New Delhi: India reported 18,819 new Covid cases in a span of 24 hours, which is a considerable rise from the previous day’s count of 14,506, taking the caseload to over one lakh-mark after a gap of four months, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Affairs.

In the same period, the country reported 39 more Covid deaths, taking the nationwide death toll to 5,25,116.

The active caseload has also surged to 1,04,555 cases, accounting for 0.24 per cent of the country’s total positive cases. The last time the active Covid caseload crossed the one lakh-mark was on February 28 when it reached 1,02,601.

The recovery of 13,827 patients in the last 24 hours took the cumulative tally to 4,28,22,493. Consequently, India’s recovery rate stands at 98.55 per cent.

Meanwhile, India’s daily positivity rate has also surged to 4.16 per cent, while the weekly positivity rate in the country currently stands at 3.72 per cent.

Also in the same period, a total of 4,52,430 tests were conducted across the country, increasing the overall tally to over 86.23 crore.

As of Thursday morning, India’s Covid-19 vaccination coverage exceeded 197.61 crore, achieved via 2,57,19,005 sessions.

Over 3.66 crore adolescents have been administered with a first dose of Covid-19 jab since the beginning of vaccination drive for this age bracket.