There are 15 states and Union Territories (UTs) that haven't reported any COVID-related deaths in the last 24 hours, and seven states and UTs that haven't reported deaths in the last three weeks, a Union Health Ministry official said at a briefing on Tuesday, 9 February.
Addressing the briefing, Health Ministry Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said there has been a 55 percent decline in average daily COVID-19 deaths in the last five weeks.
Active cases account for only 1.32 percent of the total cases, with Kerala (45.72 percent) and Maharashtra (25.06 percent) accounting for 71 percent of the total active cases in the country, the government representative said.
“COVID-19 deaths are at 112 per million population... There are 33 states and UTs which have less than 5,000 active cases.”Rajesh Bhushan, Secretary, Health Ministry, as quoted by ANI
On Tuesday, Delhi reported no COVID-19-related deaths after more than 10 months. As many as 100 new cases were recorded in the national capital, taking the tally in the country to 6,36,260, with the death toll standing at 10,882.
On Vaccination
More than 63 lakh vaccine shots against COVID-19 have been administered in India till now, the government said, adding that 12 states and UTs, including Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Kerala, have given the vaccine to over 65 percent healthcare workers.
Meanwhile, eleven states and UTs, including Delhi, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and Punjab, have given the vaccine to less than 40 percent of healthcare workers, the government said, reported PTI.
The Health Ministry also pointed out that the national-level AEFI (adverse event following immunisation) committee's first meeting was held on 5 February, in which 8 AEFI cases were discussed.
Meanwhile, NITI Aayog member VK Paul said there is no evidence of the presence of the South Africa variant of coronavirus in India till now, but the situation is being monitored.
"South Africa variant of COVID-19 is under watch. It has come forward that this variant spreads faster. As of yesterday, this particular variant is not in the country," he was quoted as saying.
The daily coronavirus cases in India have been showing a declining trend since September, when more than 90,000 infections were being reported every day. On Tuesday, India reported 9,110 new coronavirus cases, taking the tally in the country to 1,08,47,304. Meanwhile, the death toll increased by 78 to 1,55,158.
The coronavirus vaccination programme was launched in the country on 16 January, with two vaccine candidates – Serum Institute's Covishield and Bharat Biotech's Covaxin – having been given approval by the top drug regulator just days prior.
(With inputs from PTI and ANI.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)