New Delhi (NVI): With 16,752 new Covid infections in the last 24 hours, India’s tally of coronavirus cases stood at 11,096,731, according to the Health Ministry.
11,718 corona patients were discharged while 113 patients succumbed to the virus since yesterday. The overall death toll due to the virus has now climbed to 1,57,051.
So far, a total of 1,07.75,169 recoveries have been recorded in the country.
Apart from that, India will commence on phase 2 of its Covid vaccination drive from March 1. People above 60 years and those above 45 with co-morbidities are eligible for the vaccine shots in the second phase.
India began the world’s largest vaccination drive on January 16, with healthcare workers and frontline workers getting the initial doses. Pertinent to mention here that currently two vaccines– Covaxin and Covishield — are being used to inoculate the citizens.
Meanwhile, the Centre has fixed the Covid-19 vaccine price at Rs 250 per dose at private hospitals and health centres. The vaccines will be free in all government hospitals and centres.
During a high-level meeting yesterday, the Government pushed for an aggressive vaccination drive in states with a higher number of cases. These states are Maharashtra, Punjab, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Telangana, and Jammu & Kashmir.
Maharashtra has seen an unprecedented spike in the number of new cases in the past few days. The State reported 8,623 cases and 51 deaths yesterday. After Maharashtra, Kerala continued to record the second highest daily cases and casualties in the country.
-ARK
