India logs 19,673 new COVID-19 cases, 39 deaths

New Delhi, July 31: India logged 19,673 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, according to data updated by the Union Health Ministry on Sunday.

With this fresh surge in COVID-19 cases, the country’s total cases are now at 4,40,19,811. Here, active cases stand at 1,43,676 which account for 0.33 percent of the total cases.

The recovery rate in the country currently stands at 98.48 percent. As many as 19,336 fresh recoveries were logged in the country in the last 24 hours thereby increasing the total recoveries to 4,33,49,778.

The health ministry informed that 39 fatalities were recorded in a day pushing India’s COVID-19 death toll to 5,26,357.

Of the 3,96,424 tests conducted in the last 24 hours, a daily positivity rate of 4.96 percent was observed. The weekly positivity rate is at 4.88 percent.

On the COVID-19 vaccination front, more than 204.25 crore vaccine doses have been administered so far under the nationwide vaccination drive. Here, 31,36,029 doses were administered in the last 24 hours.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 87,52,07,621 samples have been tested up to July 30 for COVID-19. Of these 3,96,424 samples were tested on Saturday.

Delhi recorded 1,333 fresh COVID-19 cases on Saturday, the highest single-day rise in over a month, with a positivity rate of 8.39 percent while three more people succumbed to the viral disease, showed the data shared by the Delhi health department here.

The daily count of coronavirus cases also breached the 1,000-mark in the national capital for the fourth consecutive day, while the positivity rate in the city was above five percent for the eighth day in a row. COVID cases have steadily risen in the last week.

In June this year, the Union Health Ministry advocated for increased vaccination coverage for children and the elderly population, following a rise in cases from several parts of the country.

States were directed to accelerate vaccination coverage, especially of the 60-plus elderly population, and that of the second dose in the 12-17 year groups.

“States are to also ensure that vaccines that expire first are administered first, preventing any wastage of resources,” the ministry said.

In addition, the ministry had also advised states to follow the ‘Operational Guidelines for Revised Surveillance Strategy in context of COVID-19’ issued by the Centre on June 9.

The revised surveillance guidelines call for sewage and wastewater surveillance, which may provide early warnings on a potential local surge of COVID-19, the ministry said in its communication to the states.

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