India on Thursday registered 2,86,384 new Covid-19 cases, which took the overall tally in the country to 4,03,71,500 since the pandemic began in January 2020. The number of new cases on Wednesday was marginally higher than Wednesday’s count of 2,85,914 infections.

The daily positivity rate increased to 19.59% from 16.16% on Wednesday.

A total of 573 people died of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, taking the overall number of deaths to 4,91,127.

The country currently has 22,02,472 active cases, and the number declined by 20,546 in the past day. At present, active cases constitute 5.46% of the country’s total caseload.

(Source: Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare)

The recovery rate is currently at 93.33%, and 3,06,357 people recovered from the disease in the past 24 hours.

In the past day, 22,35,267 coronavirus vaccine doses were administered in the country, taking the total number of doses administered to 1,63,84,39,207. Out of these, 97,03,569 were precaution doses administered to healthcare workers, frontline workers and senior citizens.

India updates

The test positivity rate in Mumbai declined sharply to 4.3% on Wednesday from 28.9% on January 7, The Indian Express reported.

Covid-19 cases have been on a declining trend in the past week in Mumbai after having reached a peak earlier this month. On Wednesday, the city registered 1,858 new cases and 13 deaths.

The city municipal corporation’s Additional Commissioner Suresh Kakani said that authorities expect daily cases to drop further, according to The Indian Express. “Next week, it may go below 1,000 per day,” he said. “But the public needs to be careful and not let their guard down as the pandemic isn’t over yet.”

Karnataka Governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot on Wednesday urged citizens to handle the coronavirus situation with “total seriousness”, PTI reported. “We must continue to observe the SMS mantra of Social Distancing, Masking and Sanitisation for the sake of everybody’s health,” he said.

He made the remarks during an address after unfurling the national flag on the occasion of Republic Day.

Karnataka has been reporting a high number of coronavirus cases in the past two weeks. On Wednesday, the state recorded 48,905 new cases and 39 deaths.

Meanwhile, a study by the Indian Council of Medical Research has found that people infected with the Omicron variant of Covid-19 have a significant immune response not just against that strain, but also other variants of concern, PTI reported on Wednesday.

The immune response extends to the Delta variant as well, the study showed. The study said that this could make re-infection with the Delta variant less likely, due to which Omicron may replace Delta as the dominant variant of the coronavirus.