Amid reports of fourth wave of Covid-19, India records 2,075 new cases in 24 hours

India recorded 2,075 new Covid-19 cases, 71 deaths in the last 24 hours, pushing the total death toll to 5,16,352, according to the data released by the Ministry of Health on Saturday (March 19, 2022). The active cases stand at 27,802.

A decrease of 1,379 cases has been recorded in the active Covid-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. The country also recorded 3,383 recoveries today, taking the total number of recoveries to 4,24,61,926.

The active cases account for 0.06 per cent of the total caseload, while the national Covid-19 recovery rate has further improved to 98.73 per cent, the ministry said.

Additionally, the cumulative doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide Covid-19 vaccination drive have exceeded ​​​​181.04 crore. As many as 3,70,514 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours to detect the presence of the virus.

Meanwhile, witnessing a surge in Covid-19 cases, China on Friday reported 2,157 locally transmitted Covid-19 cases, the National Health Commission said on Saturday.

Of the new local infections, 1,674 were reported in the province of Jilin, 199 in Fujian, 69 in Liaoning, 47 in Guangdong, and 42 in Shandong respectively, Xinhua reported.

China's national health authorities reported two Covid-19 deaths on Saturday, the first recorded rise in the death toll since January 2021, as the country battles an omicron-driven surge.