India adds 36,401 fresh Covid cases, 530 deaths in 24 hrs

New Delhi, Aug 19 : India on Thursday registered a spike in single day caseload and and reported a total of 36,401 fresh cases in the past 24 hrs. A total of 530 deaths were also reported in the same time span, pushing the death toll due to Covid-19 to 4,33,049, said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

India's recovery rate from Covid infection currently stands at 97.53 per cent, the highest since March 2020. However, the active caseload also registered a decline of 3,286 in past 24 hrs, and cumulatively stands at 3,64,129, the lowest in 149 days. The active caseload constitutes 1.13 per cent of the total cases, the lowest since March 2020, as per the health ministry data.

A total of 39,157 patients were discharged from the hospitals and health centres in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of cured to 3,15,25,080 to the date in India. The weekly positivity rate remains below 3 per cent for the last 55 days and currently stands at 1.95 per cent. The daily positivity rate continues to remain below 3 per cent for 24 continuous days and currently stands at 1.94 per cent.

Meanwhile, India's Covid-19 vaccination coverage crossed 56 cr landmark. Cumulatively, 56,64,88,433 vaccine doses have been administered so far across the nation under mass vaccination drive against Covid-19. A total of 56,36,336 vaccine doses were administered in the last 24 hours, said the health bulletin.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on August 18 achieved the milestone of conducting 50 crore tests. With average daily testing of more than 17 lakhs in the month of August, India has tested 50 crore samples across the country to date.