India has tested a total of 21,38,29,658 samples for Covid-19 after the outbreak in the country, the Indian Council of Medical Research said on Thursday. Of the total, 7,93,383 samples were tested in the last 24 hours.
Earlier this month, the country reached the milestone of 20-crore gross cumulative coronavirus test mark on 6 February.
Progressive nationwide expansion in testing infrastructure played a crucial role in the steep rise in testing numbers, an official statement by the ministry then said.
Covid-19 in India
According to official data released on Wednesday, India’s Covid-19 count has gone up to 1,10,30,176 while recuperations are at 1,07,26,702. In the country, there are 1,46,907 active cases of coronavirus, the data confirmed.
Vaccination drive
On Wednesday, the health ministry said that in India, the total number of doses of coronavirus vaccine given to healthcare and frontline staff has surpassed 1.23 crore.
Approximately 1,23,66,633 Covid-19 vaccine doses were administered on Wednesday through 2,63,224 sessions until 6 pm.
These include 65,24,726 healthcare workers (HCWs) who took the first dose, 14,81,754 HCWs who took the second shot, and 43,60,153 first-dose frontline workers (FLWs).
Although the national vaccination programme was initiated on January 16, the inoculation of FLWs began on February 2.
Vaccination access
The government announced on Wednesday that senior citizens and individuals above 45 years of age with comorbidities will receive covid-19 vaccination at 10,000 government facilities and more than 20,000 private hospitals from 1 March.
In a news conference, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said, “The covid vaccine will be given free of charge to all individuals over 60 and those over 45 years of age but with a comorbid condition at 10,000 government vaccination centres.”
