India adds 12,781 COVID-19 cases, positivity rate over 4% after 130 days
New Delhi(PTI): India on Monday logged 12,781 fresh COVID-19 cases that pushed its infection tally to 4,33,09,473, while the daily positivity rate went past 4 per cent after 130 days, according to Union health ministry data.
The death toll climbed to 5,24,873 with 18 new fatalities. The number of active cases increased to 76,700, the data updated at 8 am stated.
The daily positivity rate was recorded at 4.32 per cent and the weekly positivity rate at 2.62 per cent, the ministry said.
The active cases comprise 0.18 per cent of the total infections. The national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.61 per cent, it said.
An increase of 4,226 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,27,07,900, while the case fatality rate stood at 1.21 per cent, the ministry said.
So far, 196.18 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in the country under the nationwide inoculation drive.
India's COVID-19 tally crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 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 1-crore mark on December 19.
India crossed the grim milestone of 2 crore on May 4, 3 crore on June 23 and 4 crore on January 25 this year.
The 18 new fatalities include 11 from Kerala, three from Delhi and one each from Karnataka, Maharashtra, Punjab and West Bengal.
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NEET student hangs self in Rajasthan's Sikar
Jaipur (PTI): A student preparing for the NEET examination allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in a rented room in Rajasthan's Sikar on Friday, police said.
According to the police, the student allegedly hanged himself from a ceiling fan using his sister's scarf while one sister was attending coaching classes and the other was in the bathroom.
He had appeared in the NEET UG exam 2026, which was cancelled due to paper leak, they said.
Udyog Nagar SHO Rajesh Kumar said that the deceased, identified as Pradeep Meghwal, was a resident of Kanika ki Dhani village in Jhunjhunu's Gudha Gaudji area.
He had been living in a rented room in Sikar's Jaldhari Nagar area with his two sisters while preparing for NEET over the last three years.
His elder sister later found him hanging and informed the landlord and police after bringing him down, officials said.
The SHO said the body was kept at SK Hospital mortuary, and a postmortem had not been conducted.
The student's father, Rajesh Kumar Meghwal, told police that Pradeep's NEET examination had gone well and the family was expecting him to score around 650 marks.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot expressed grief over the incident and linked it to anxiety among students after reports of irregularities and paper leaks in NEET 2026.
Pilot said repeated paper leak incidents and cancellation of examinations were affecting students' mental health and demanded a time-bound investigation and strict action against those responsible.
