India reported another massive spike in 1,79,723 coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases on Monday as variants of Omicron continued to spread rapidly in the country, according to data released by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (Moff). The updated figures also show that the number of active cases has crossed the 700,000 mark.

India is witnessing a third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic as the virus rages across states, leading to a surge in daily infections. This is the fourth day that India’s daily statistics remain above the 100,000 mark.

The number of Omicron has also surged and now stands at 4,033, with Maharashtra having the highest number of infections (1,126). It was followed by Rajasthan (529), Delhi (513), Karnataka (441) and Kerala (333), according to the Health Ministry.

The ministry also reported 146 new deaths, bringing the total to 483,936. After Monday’s new infections, the cumulative number of cases stood at 3,57,07,727.

According to the Ministry of Health, the daily positivity rate soared to 13.29%, while the weekly positivity rate was 7.92%.

The ministry’s figures also showed that the national Covid-19 recovery rate fell to 96.98 per cent. In the past 24 hours, as many as 46,569 people have recovered, bringing the cumulative number to 3,45,00,172.

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya will chair a meeting on Monday to review the pandemic situation in five states and one Union Territory (UT), news agency PTI reported.

The health ministers of Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and the United Territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Dammam and Diu will be present.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a high-level meeting to review the Covid-19 situation across the country where he directed the officials to speed up vaccinations.

Meanwhile, India began administering the ‘precaution dose’ of the Covid vaccine to frontline workers and senior citizens with comorbidities. Eligible beneficiaries can walk-in to their nearby vaccination centre and get the third dose, according to the Centre’s guidelines.

The guidelines also mandate the same vaccine to be administered to the beneficiary and no mix-match is allowed as of now. This means those who were administered with Covaxin as their first and second dose will receive the same as their ‘precautionary dose’, and people who received Covishield will be given the same vaccine again.

Complete News Source : Hindustan Times