India recorded 22K coronavirus cases yesterday, lowest since July
What's the story
In an upbeat piece of news, India on Monday logged just a little over 22,000 COVID-19 cases — the nation's lowest single-day rise since July 4. As per the government's tally, 22,065 fresh cases came to the fore yesterday, taking India's total number of infections to 99,06,507. 354 people died in the last 24 hours swelling the death toll to 1,43,746. Here's more.
Figures
3,39,820 active cases in India, recoveries stand at 94,22,636
The Ministry of Health revealed that the number of active cases stands at 3,39,820. After a record 34,477 people were discharged yesterday, the number of recoveries stands at 94,22,636. Evidently, the number of recoveries trumped fresh infections yesterday. India, the second worst-hit nation after the US, has one of the best recovery rates at 95.12%, data from the government disclosed.
States
Maharashtra added nearly 3,000 cases to its tally
The worst-affected Indian state, Maharashtra, added 2,949 new cases to its tally, taking the total number of infections to 18,83,365. 60 people died in the last 24 hours taking the death toll to 48,269. With 9,02,240 cases, Karnataka is the second worst-impacted state. The state has lost 11,954 to the disease. The third and fourth worst-hit states are Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
Vaccination
Yesterday, Centre released guidelines for vaccination drive
As the cases' growth rate seems under control and good news about vaccines are emerging from different parts of the globe, the Centre on Monday issued guidelines for vaccinating the large population. A digital platform — COVID Vaccine Intelligence Network (Co-WIN) system — will be deployed to track enlisted beneficiaries. Only those who have been named will be given the doses, reports said.
Directions
Date of expiry may not be present on vaccine's label
The government also explained that vaccine vial monitors (VVM) and the date of expiry on the label of the COVID-19 vaccine might not be present. "This should not discourage vaccinators from using the vaccine. At the end of the session, the vaccine carrier with all ice packs and unopened vaccine vials should be sent back to the distributing cold chain point," read the guidelines.
Details
After getting dose, people will be monitored for some time
The guidelines underlined that 100-200 people must be inoculated during each session every day. Those who receive the doses have to be monitored for half an hour after the process to look for any adverse reaction, the government added. Further, the government has directed the states to stick to one vaccine manufacturer for one district, to avoid confusion on the field.