India’s on Wednesday reported 3,48,421 fresh Coronavirus cases, along with the highest death count of 4,205 in the last 24 hours. According to the data shared by the Union Health Ministry, the total caseload has mounted to 2,33,40,938, with 37,04,099 active cases, in the fight against the second wave of Covid-19 that has raised global concerns.
In the last 24 hours, the country saw a total of 3,55,338 discharges, taking the total recovery to 1,93,82,642. The total death toll in the country now stands at 2,54,197.
So far a total of 17,52,35,991 people have so far been vaccinated against COVID-19 in India.
The positivity rate stood at 17.56 per cent.
In the last 24 hours, 19,83,804 samples were tested, the highest in a day since the pandemic broke.
India has been critically affected by the unprecedented second covid-19 wave and hospitals in several states are reeling under a shortage of health workers, doctors, vaccines, oxygen, drugs and beds, killing many people due to lack of treatment at the right time.
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Experts have stressed scaling up the vaccination process to fight the recent surge, while many states are struggling to arrange enough doses. Delhi and a few southern Indian states are considering taking the global-tender route. Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Odisha have already opted for this option.
The World Health Organization has said that a covid variant - B.1.617 that was identified in India in October and is the reason behind the explosion in cases has been found in 44 countries. The variant has been labelled as "a variant of concern".
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Meanwhile, Mucormycosis or Black Fungus, a rare but serious fungal infection that is now affecting covid patients has raised concerns.