India on Wednesday registered 17,921 new coronavirus cases, taking the country’s overall tally to 1,12,62,707, data from the health ministry showed. The toll went up to 1,58,063 after 133 deaths were reported in 24 hours.

The active cases dropped to 1,84,598, constituting 1.64% of the total infections. The recoveries reached 1,09,20,046. A total of 2,43,67,906 vaccine doses have been administered so far. Of these, 13,59,173 were given on Tuesday.

The Indian Council of Medical Research said that 22,34,79,877 samples have been tested up to March 9 for the disease, of which, 7,63,081 were tested on Tuesday.

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

Maharashtra continued to be the worst-affected in the country, and on Tuesday, State Health Secretary Pradeep Vyas along with his team of experts prepared a seven-point strategy to contain the spread of infection in the state, reported The Times of India.

The team reviewed the levels of the spread of Covid-19 in Nagpur, Pune, Mumbai, Amaravati, Yavatmal and Thane, which have reported a sharp surge in cases over the past few weeks.

The experts suggested that all districts should follow the same strategy, which includes provisions of institutional quarantine facilities, audits of all Covid-related deaths, and restrictions on the size of social events. “All districts have to follow this protocol and collectors are expected to provide detailed reports,” Vyas told the newspaper.

The state on Tuesday night reported 9,927 new coronavirus cases, pushing the tally to 22,38,398. With 56 deaths, the toll climbed to 52,556. There are 95,322 cases in the state. Authorities in Jalgaon district imposed a “janata curfew” that will be implemented between 8 pm on March 11 and 8 am on March 15.

Meanwhile, cases in Delhi again breached the 300-mark after a gap of two days, with 320 new infections and four deaths recorded on Tuesday, PTI reported. The city’s tally rose to 6,41,660 and the toll went up to 10,928.

Global updates

  1. Globally, the coronavirus has infected more than 11.75 crore people and killed over 26.09 lakh, according to John Hopkins University. Over 6.66 crore people have recovered from the infection in the world.
  2. The Covid-19 vaccine produced by Pfizer and BioNTech was able to neutralise a new variant of the coronavirus spreading rapidly in Brazil, according to a laboratory study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Reuters reported.
  3. China has launched a digital coronavirus vaccination certificate for its citizens planning cross-border travels, joining other countries issuing similar documents as they seek ways to reopen their economies. The certificate issued by China will have details about the holder’s Covid-19 vaccination information and coronavirus test results, the Department of Consular Affairs under China’s foreign ministry said, according to Reuters.