India reports over 2.8 lakh new COVID-19 cases; active caseload crosses 18 lakh

New Delhi: With 2,82,970 new coronavirus infections being reported in a day, India’s total tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 3,79,01,241, which includes 8,961 cases of the Omicron variant, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday. The active cases have increased to 18,31,000, the highest in 232 days. The active cases stood at 18,95,520 on May 31 last year. The death toll has climbed to 4,87,202 with 441 fresh fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated. There has been an 0.79 per cent increase in Omicron cases since Tuesday, the ministry said. Experts said it is not possible to undertake genome sequencing of each and every sample but stressed that the current wave is largely being driven by the Omicron variant. The active cases comprise 4.83 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has decreased to 93.88 per cent, the ministry said. An increase of 44,952 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 15.13 per cent while the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 15.53 per cent, according to the ministry. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 3,55,83,039, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.29 per cent. The cumulative doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive has exceeded 158.88 crore. India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19. India crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 and three crore on June 23. The 441 new fatalities include 122 from Kerala, 53 from Maharashtra and 34 from West Bengal. A total of 4,87,202 deaths have been reported so far in the country including 1,41,885 from Maharashtra, 51,026 from Kerala, 38,465 from Karnataka, 37,038 from Tamil Nadu, 25,425 from Delhi, 22,984 from Uttar Pradesh and 20,155 from West Bengal. The ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities. “Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research,” the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News ,  India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.