At 1,65,553 people tested positive for Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, taking the cumulative caseload to 2,78,94,800, said the Union Health Ministry. This is the lowest number of fresh infections reported across the country in around 46 days. The daily fatalities that were earlier a cause of concern are also seen to be dipping with 3,460 more people succumbing to the disease in the last 24 hours. The number stood at 3,617 a day ago. With this, the cumulative death toll in India has reached 3,25,972.   On the brighter side, recoveries in the country have outnumbered new cases for the seventeenth day with 2,76,309 people getting discharged. This took the total number of discharges to 2,54,54,320. Consequently, the active tally has dipped by 1,14,216 to reach 21,14,508.

India has tested 34,31,83,748 samples for Covid-19 until now, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). Out of these, 20,63,839 samples were tested on Friday, a slight decline from the day before when the number stood at 20,80,048. The country has so far administered 21,20,66,614 anti-Covid jabs. Out of these, 30,35,749 shots were given in the last 24 hours. India achieved a significant landmark in its ongoing inoculation drive as the cumulative number of doses administered went past 21 crores on Saturday.

According to the health ministry, Bihar, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh have administered more than 10 lakh beneficiaries of the age group 18-44 years for their first dose of Covid vaccine.

Infectious variant. A senior scientist has said that the B.1.617.2,  a variant of Covid-19 first identified in India is infectious and there are chances that this variant may become dominant in other countries.

“This B.1.617.2 was the variant that emerged in October and November last year in India and became a major variant during this wave in February-March,” said Dr Rakesh Mishra, Advisor, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB). Dr Mishra said that in states like Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Karnataka, there were several cases of B.1.617.2. “This strain has reached almost 48 countries and there are chances that this variant may become dominant in other countries,” he said, adding that B.1.617.2 strain has been found at airports in the country.