Delhi: With 2,09,918 people testing positive for the coronavirus infection in a day, India's total tally of cases increased to over 4.13 crore, according to Union health ministry data updated on Monday morning at 8 am. The data reported from various state health departments till 10 pm suggest that the country is continuing to bend the Covid graph, though the overall active cases remain high.
After recording more than 50,000 daily new Covid cases in the past week, Kerala on Monday saw its tally come to 42,154 and the test positivity rate settle at 42.40 percent, Health Minister Veena George said. The state government chose to remain cautious and decided on continuing on with the Sunday lockdown on February 6 which was in place during the past two Sundays. The district-wise restrictions based on the A, B and C categorization would continue in the state.
Delhi reported 38 fatalities and 2,779 cases in a day, while the positivity rate marginally declined to 6.20 percent. However, the number of cases could be low owing to the lesser number of tests (44,847) conducted the previous day since it was a Sunday.
Odisha reported 18 more COVID-19 fatalities on Monday, one less than the previous day, with the toll rising to 8,612. At least 3,329 fresh infections raised the tally in the state to 12,49,240. Jharkhand witnessed a dip in daily COVID-19 caseload as 733 people tested positive for the disease, 305 less than the previous day, with the tally mounting to 4,27,912. The death toll stood at 5,300 as no fresh fatality due to the infection was reported in the last 24 hours.
Puducherry reported 504 new coronavirus cases on Monday raising the tally in the Union Territory to 1,61,251. Single-day recoveries outnumbered new COVID-19 cases in Andaman and Nicobar Islands as 81 people were cured of the disease and 34 tested positive for the infection in the last 24 hours. The fresh cases raised the tally in the Union Territory to 9,777. Ladakh reported 133 fresh COVID-19 cases on Monday, taking the virus tally to 25,869 while the active cases in the union territory have come down to 1,212, officials said. The union territory has recorded 224 Covid-related deaths, 165 in Leh and 59 in Kargil -- since the outbreak of the pandemic last year. Sikkim's COVID-19 caseload rose to 38,152 on Monday as 53 more people tested positive for the virus in the past 24 hours. Tripura's daily Covid-19 cases dropped to 79 on Monday from 186 a day before, while the overall infection tally increased to 1,00,221. Tripura registered four fresh fatalities taking the death toll to 896.
Also Read: India bending the COVID curve
Active Covid-19 cases came down to 1,10,517 as Andhra Pradesh added 5,879 fresh infections against 11,384 recoveries in the 24 hours ending 9 am on Monday. The latest bulletin said nine infected persons also succumbed in the state in 24 hours. Registering a slight rise, Telangana on Monday reported 2,861 new COVID-19 cases and pushed the caseload to 7,63,911. On Sunday, there were 2,484 cases. The death toll rose to 4,089 with three more fatalities, a bulletin said. The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most of the cases with 746 followed by districts of Medchal Malkajgiri (234) and Ranga Reddy (165).
The COVID-19 tally in Madhya Pradesh reached 9,67,501 on Monday with the detection of 8,062 new cases, while the toll increased to 10,618 after two patients succumbed to the infection in the last 24 hours, a state health department official said. The positivity rate, or cases detected per 100 tests, decreased to 10.8 per cent on Monday from 11.49 per cent a day earlier
The Madhya Pradesh government on Monday decided to reopen schools, including residential ones, with 50 per cent capacity for students of classes 1 to 12 from February 1 as the coronavirus situation appears to be stabilising in the state.
Maharashtra on Monday reported 15,140 fresh coronavirus positive cases, 7,304 less than the day before, and 39 fatalities due to the infection. The latest additions pushed the overall caseload to 77,21,109 and the death toll to 1,42,611. Mumbai reported 960 new COVID-19 cases on Monday as daily count dropped below the 1,000-mark for the first time after December 27, 2021, while 11 more patients die due to the infection, the city civic body. Pune on Monday reported 3,762 COVID-19 cases, taking the district's tally to 14,09,835, while 14 deaths took the toll to 19,475.
Registering a further decline in fresh infections, Karnataka on Monday reported 24,172 new cases of COVID-19 and 56 fatalities, taking the tally to 38,09,467, and death toll to 38,998. The state on Sunday had reported 28,264 daily cases.
Jammu and Kashmir recorded 2,550 fresh coronavirus cases on Monday, taking the number of infected people to 4,35,425, while 15 deaths due to the disease were reported in the past 24 hours. Out of the fresh cases, 974 were from the Jammu division and 1,576 from the Kashmir division of the Union Territory.
Gujarat on Monday recorded 6,679 COVID-19 cases, the lowest since January 10 when the addition was 6,097, taking the tally in the state to 11,60,659. However, the number of deaths witnessed during the day was the highest in the third wave of the pandemic at 35, which took the toll to 10,473. Five more people succumbed to COVID-19 in Himachal Pradesh on Monday, pushing the death toll to 3,983, while 1,471 fresh cases took the infection tally to 2,71,549.
Tamil Nadu continued to witness a decline in fresh infections as the state added 19,280 new Coronavirus positive cases on Monday taking the tally to 33,45,220, while the net recoveries stood at 31,09,526 with 25,056 positive patients getting discharged after treatment. The state saw 20 fatalities in the last 24 hours, pushing the death toll to 37,564. The number of active cases, including isolation, rose to 1,98,130.
Schools start opening-up
Considering the drop in daily new infections and the country flattening the Covid curve many city administrations and states have decided to reopen schools and colleges. The vaccination process for teenagers kicking off in the country has further allayed fears for many state governments. In Bengaluru, schools reopened on January 31 and classes were conducted in accordance with all Covid-19 protocols. In Tripura as well, all schools, colleges and universities opened from Monday after a span of one month. The Nagpur district administration on Monday allowed offline classes for students of grades 1 to 12 and also those in colleges from February 1 with COVID-19 protocols. Similarly, Madhya Pradesh on Monday decided to reopen schools, including residential ones, with 50 percent capacity for students of classes 1 to 12 from February 1. Tamil Nadu has decided to open all educational institutions including schools for all classes and colleges, except the ones acting as COVID care centers, universities and training centers from February 1; playschools and nurseries are however exempted. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced on Monday that schools will resume from February 3. "Initially, we have asked school authorities to start classes from VIII to XII and we will open up the rest in phases. The education department will also take the initiative to start classes from V to VII through the 'Parai school' program," she said.
(With agency inputs)
