India registered 11,919 new coronavirus cases on Thursday morning, pushing the overall tally of infections to 3,44,78,517 since the pandemic began in January last year. The number of new cases was 16.8% higher than Wednesday’s count of 10,197.

The country reported 470 more deaths in the last 24 hours. The toll rose to 4,64,623.

India now has 1,28,762 active coronavirus cases. They account for 0.37% of the total infections. More than 3.38 crore patients in the country have recovered from the infection.

Source: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

A total of 1,14,46,32,851 vaccine doses have been administered in India since the beginning of the inoculation drive in January. Of these, 73,44,739 were administered on Wednesday.

The chief of Serum Institute of India, which has manufactured the Covishield vaccine, urged all eligible Indians to get vaccinated as soon as possible. “Vaccine hesitancy is now the greatest threat in overcoming this pandemic,” Adar Poonawalla tweeted on Wednesday.

Global news

  1. Germany registered a record 52,826 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, the BBC reported. Chancellor Angela Merkel said the country is experiencing a fourth wave of Covid-19. Cases in several European countries are surging. Belgium Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said the map of the continent is “quickly going red”.
  2. The coronavirus has infected over 25.49 crore people across the world and caused over 51.23 lakh deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.