New Delhi: India is still not getting any relief from the dreaded Coronavirus as the active cases went up by 793 on Thursday. The new infections at 12,881 were higher than the recovery of 11,987 patients.
There were 101 deaths in the past 24 hours, the highest 40 being in Maharashtra, followed by 16 in Kerala and 10 in Punjab. Delhi and 14 other states and Union Territories reported no deaths for the second day while there were 6 or lesser deaths in 17 other states and Union Territories.
Total recoveries on Thursday touched 10.66 lakh as against 10.95 total cases of Covid-19. Those under treatment grossed 1.37 lakh and the country's death toll is 1,56,014. As many as 7.27 lakh persons were tested in 24 hours, raising the total number of persons tested in India to 20.87 crore.
Those who have been administered the Covid-19 vaccine increased to 94.22 lakh which the Health Ministry claimed to be the highest in the world.
Citing the region's collaborative effort to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday called for greater integration among South Asia and the Indian Ocean island countries to deal with their challenges. "If the 21st century is to be the Asian century, it can not be so without greater integration among the countries of South Asia and the Indian Ocean islands. The spirit of regional solidarity shown during the pandemic has proven that such integration is possible," he said at a workshop on "COVID-19 Management: Experience, Good Practices and Way Forward" with 10 neighbouring countries, including those in the extended neighbourhood.
In his virtual address, Modi said the spirit of collaboration among these countries is a valuable takeaway from this pandemic and pitched for a similar cooperation in the ongoing deployment of vaccines.
"Through our openness and determination, we have managed to achieve one of the lowest fatality rates in the world. Today, the hopes of our region and the world are focused on rapid deployment of vaccines. In this too, we must maintain the same cooperative and collaborative spirit," he said.
