India reports 67,597 new Covid cases, 1,188 deaths
New Delhi(PTI): India saw a single-day rise of 67,597 new coronavirus infections that rose its tally to 4,23,39,611, while the active cases fell below 10 lakh after around 27 days, the Union Health Ministry said on Tuesday.
The death toll has climbed to 5,04,062 with 1,188 fresh fatalities, data updated by the ministry at 8 am stated.
The active Covid cases have declined to 9,94,891, comprising 2.35 per cent of the total infections. The national recovery rate improved to 96.46 per cent, the ministry said.
There was a reduction of 1,14,047 cases in the active COVID-19 case count in a span of 24 hours, as per the data. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 5.02 per cent while the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 8.30 per cent, it said.
The number of people who have recuperated from Covid surged to 4,08,40,658, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent, the data showed.
The cumulative vaccine doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 inoculation drive have exceeded 170.21 crore, it stated.
India's COVID-19 tally had 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 one-crore mark on December 19. The country crossed the grim milestone of two crore Covid cases on May 4, 2021, and three crore cases on June 23 last year.
The 1,188 new fatalities included 860 from Kerala and 49 from Karnataka, the data stated.
Of the 860 deaths, 14 were reported in the past 24 hours, 113 occurred in the last few days but were not recorded due to late receipt of documents and 733 were designated as COVID-19 deaths after receiving appeals based on the new guidelines of the Centre and the directions of the Supreme Court, a Kerala government release said on Monday.
A total of 5,05,062 deaths have been reported so far in the country, including 1,43,098 from Maharashtra, 59,115 from Kerala,
39,396 from Karnataka, 37,772 from Tamil Nadu, 25,998 from Delhi, 23,330 from Uttar Pradesh and 20,852 from West Bengal.
The health 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 state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
