India, in the last 24 hours, added 1,52,879 fresh Covid-19 infections, setting another grim one-day record as the country’s tally reached over 1.33 crore cases. 839 deaths in the last 24 hours pushed the toll to 1.69 lakh.
This comes on a day when the country kicked off a 4-day-long “Tika Utsav” or vaccine festival to inoculate maximum number of eligible people against the coronavirus. It is being held following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal to the chief ministers of all states and union territories during a meeting over the coronavirus situation on Saturday.
Registering a steady increase for the 32nd day in row, the active cases increased to 11,08,087 comprising 8.29 per cent of the total infections, while the recovery rate further dropped to 90.44 per cent, the ministry said.
The 839 new fatalities include 309 from Maharashtra, 123 from Chhattisgarh, 58 from Punjab, 49 from Gujarat, 46 from Uttar Pradesh, 39 from Delhi, 36 from Karnataka, 24 from Madhya Pradesh, 23 from Tamil Nadu, 18 from Rajasthan, 17 each from Kerala and Jharkhand, 12 each from Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and West Bengal and 11 from Haryana.
‘Tika Utsav’ kicks off around country
Inaugurating the mass vaccination drive on Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said it is the second big war on Covid-19. “We’re going to begin the ‘Tika Utsav’ today (Sunday). I urge my countrymen to abide by 4 things — assist those who need help getting inoculated, help people in Covid treatment, wear masks and motivate others, and if someone tests positive, create micro-a containment zone in the area,” Modi added.
Several states such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have ramped up their efforts to double inoculations and have appealed people to get themselves vaccinated during the four-day programme.
Adityanath visited the Shakti Bhawan to inspect the vaccination drive. “Eligible people should join the ‘Tika Utsav’. People above 45 can register themselves at their nearby vaccination centres to be part of the campaign. We are running vaccination drives at 6,000 centres,” he added.
Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa called the vaccine the “biggest weapon” in fight against coronavirus as he urged eligible people in the southern state to get vaccinated.
Source: The Indian Express
BDST: 1626 HRS, APR 11, 2021
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