India recorded 16,946 new Covid-19 cases, in the last 24 hours ending 8 am Thursday, taking the total tally to over 1.05 crore. Out of these, active cases further dropped to 2.13 lakh, while recoveries went up to over 1.01 crore. With 198 deaths reported on Wednesday, the death toll stands at over 1.57 lakh. Kerala reported more than 6,000 cases, its total caseload now is over 8.25 lakh. Maharashtra, with 3,556 new cases, was the only other state to report more than 1,000 cases on Wednesday.
Less than 2 days before India starts its nationwide inoculation drive, about 95 per cent of 1.1 crore Covishield vaccine doses purchased by the government have been delivered across the country and the remaining 1 lakh vials will be delivered shortly, sources told PTI. The first consignment of Oxford-Astrazena’s Covishield vaccine was dispatched from Pune early Tuesday.