COVID-19: India records 42,766 new cases
New Delhi: India has logged 42,766 new coronavirus infections taking the total tally to 3,07,95,716, while the active cases have declined to 4,55,033, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Saturday.
The death toll has climbed to 4,07,145, with 1,206 fresh fatalities.
The active cases comprise 1.48 per cent of the total infections and the national COVID-19 recovery rate stands at 97.20 per cent, the data updated at 8 am showed.
As many as 19,55,225 tests were conducted on Friday, taking the total cumulative tests conducted so far for detection of COVID-19 in the country to 42,90,41,970, while the daily positivity rate was recorded at 2.19 per cent.
It has been less than three per cent for 19 consecutive days, the ministry said, adding the weekly positivity rate has declined to 2.34 per cent.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 2,99,33,538, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.32 per cent, the data stated.
Cumulative vaccine doses administered so far has reached 37.21 crore under the nationwide vaccination drive.
India's COVID-19 tally crossed the 20 lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one crore mark on December 19. India crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 and three crore on June 23.
The 1,206 new fatalities include 738 from Maharashtra, 130 from Kerala and 68 from Karnataka.
A total of 4,07,145 deaths have been reported so far in the country including 1,25,034 from Maharashtra, 35,731 from Karnataka, 33,322 from Tamil Nadu, 25,011 from Delhi, 22,689 from Uttar Pradesh, 17,886 from West Bengal and 16,168 from Punjab.
The ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.
"Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research," the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.
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Primary accused in 96.6 pc POCSO cases were close acquaintances: NCRB
New Delhi (PTI): In 96.6 per cent of 44,126 cases of sexual abuse of minors, close acquaintances have emerged as the primary offenders, according to the latest data released by the NCRB.
In its report 'Crime in India 2024' released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 44,126 total cases have been registered under the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act under Sections 4 and 6 which pertain to penetrative sexual assault on minors during the year across the country.
The figures present a grim picture as close acquaintances emerged as primary accused in 42,634 (around 96.6 per cent) of the 44,126 total cases falling in that category, according to the latest NCRB data.
The data shows that family members were involved in 3,658 cases, while family friends, neighbours, employers or other known persons were named in 16,668 cases.
The largest share came from friends, online friends or live-in partners acting on the pretext of marriage, with 22,308 cases.
Cases where the offender was unknown or not identified stood at mere 1,492, or 3.4 per cent of the total.
Among states, Tamil Nadu reported the highest number of POCSO cases at 5,320, followed by Maharashtra at 4,829 and Madhya Pradesh at 3,721. Uttar Pradesh was next with 3,671 cases.
In Union territories, Delhi accounted for the highest number of cases at 1,038, followed by Jammu and Kashmir at 228 and Puducherry at 82. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands reported 77 cases.
The data also shows that Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Tripura and several Union territories, including Chandigarh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Lakshadweep, Ladakh and Puducherry, reported 100 per cent of cases involving known offenders.
