India recorded a single-day rise of 7,830 new Covid cases today, the highest in 223 days. Active cases in the country have increased to 40,215 according to data released by the Health Ministry.
The death count due to the contagious disease has increased to 531,016 with 16 new fatalities – two each in Delhi, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, and one each in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Five virus-related deaths were reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am stated.
The infection count reported today – a sharp jump from yesterday when 5,676 cases were reported – has taken the total number of COVID cases reported in the country to 44,776,002.
The country last recorded a single-day jump of 7,946 COVID-19 cases on September 1 last year.
1,774 cases of the XBB1.16 variant have been found across 22 states and Union Territories. Over 230 of the infected patients have contracted XBB1.16.1, the mutated sub-variant of Omicron, according to the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) data.
According to the ministry's website, 220.66 crore doses of vaccines have been administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive.