Number of people vaccinated against COVID-19 more than double number of active cases:Govt

New Delhi, Jan 19: A total of 4,54,049 beneficiaries have so far been vaccinated against COVID-19 in the country which is more than double the number of coronavirus active cases, the Union Health Ministry said on Tuesday.

In a span of 24 hours, 2,23,669 people were vaccinated for COVID-19 across 3,930 sessions taking the cumulative total of people vaccinated to 4,54,049 (across 7,860 sessions conducted so far) in the country, the ministry said.

India's total COVID-19 active caseload has dropped to 2 lakh (2,00,528) as on date which consists of just 1.90 per cent of the total cases, while the daily new cases have touched a new low on Tuesday with 10,064 daily new infections being added to the national tally after seven months. The daily new cases were 10,956 on June 12, 2020, the ministry said.

"The fall in the number of daily new cases is accompanied by a fast rising number of people getting vaccinated against COVID-19 across all states and UTs," it said.

"The total number of people vaccinated is more than double the number of active cases," the ministry highlighted. The COVID-19 positivity rate has also seen a deep dip with the increase in number of testing infrastructure.

India's weekly positivity rate is 1.97 per cent, the ministry said underlining 22 states and UTs have a weekly positivity rate less than the national average. Thirteen states and UTs have weekly positivity rate more than the national average, it stated.

The country has recorded less than 140 fatalities (137 fatalities) in a span of 24 hours after approximately 8 months, it said.

The total number of recoveries has touched 1,02,28,753 ,while the number of active cases in the country stands at 2,08,012. A total of 17,411 recoveries have been registered in a span of 24 hours in the country. The ministry said that 80.41 per cent of the new recovered cases are observed from ten states and UTs.

Kerala has reported the highest number of recoveries with 3,921 newly recovered cases in single day. A total of 3,854 people have been recovered in Maharashtra in the past 24 hours followed by 1,301 in Chhattisgarh Over 71 per cent of the new cases are from six states and UTs. Kerala continues to report the highest number of daily new cases at 3,346.

It is followed by Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu with 1,924 and 551 new cases, respectively. Eight states and UTs have reported 72.99 per cent of the total fatalities happened in a span of 24 hours. Maharashtra has reported 35 deaths. Kerala also saw a fatality count of 17 while West Bengal reported 10 new deaths.