In steep hike, India logs 3.47 lakh new Covid cases, 703 deaths

New Delhi: In a steep hike, India reported 3.47 lakh Covid-19 cases and 703 fatalities in the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Friday.

The daily cases registered a rise of around 9 per cent from the previous day.

With the fresh fatalities, the death toll climbed to 4,88,396.

Meanwhile, the active caseload has jumped to 20,18,825 which constitute 5.23 per cent of the country’s total cases.

The Omicron infection tally has risen to 9,692 across the nation, an increase of 4.36 per cent from the previous day.

The recovery of 2,51,777 patients in the last 24 hours has increased the cumulative tally to 3,60,58,806. Consequently, India’s recovery rate stands at 93.50 per cent.

Also in the same period, a total of 19,35,912 tests were conducted across the country, taking the cumulative number to over 71.15 crore.

Though the weekly positivity rate has climbed to 16.56 per cent amid sudden spike in the cases, the daily positivity rate has declined to 17.94 per cent.

With the administration of over 70 lakh vaccine doses in the last 24 hours, the country’s Covid inoculation coverage has reached 160.43 crore as of Friday morning.

More than 12.73 crore balance and unutilised Covid vaccine doses are still available with the states and UTs , the Ministry added.