India on Saturday morning recorded 3,37,704 new coronavirus cases, taking the infection count in the country to 3,89,03,731 since the pandemic broke out in January 2020. The toll rose to 4,88,884 after 488 more people died due to the virus.
The active caseload was at 21,13,365, and the recovery rate at 93.31%. The overall positivity rate was 17.22%.
The number of Omicron cases rose by 3.68% in 24 hours, with 358 new cases reported Saturday morning.
A total of 19.60 lakh Covid tests were conducted in the past day, government data showed.
This came as Delhi and Mumbai have registered a seeming dip in the number of cases, with the Capital recording 10,756 new infections on Friday evening, and Mumbai 5,008 new cases.
However, cases remained high in Karnataka, where 48,049 new cases were recorded, of which 29,068 were in Bengaluru. Testing remained higher in the state, with almost 2.5 lakh tests being conducted in 24 hours. The total positivity rate in Karnataka was at 19.23%, higher than the previous day’s 18.48%.
Amid a rise in cases, Karnataka on Friday announced it was removing the weekend lockdown, with only a night curfew remaining in the state. A similar suggestion from the Delhi government to remove its weekend lockdown was rejected by the Capital’s Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal.
The government, meanwhile, said that all booster doses – for which frontline workers and those above 60 years of age are eligible – should be deferred to three months after recovery in case one is infected with Covid.
Also read: Top 10 coronavirus updates: Delhi, Mumbai register dip in new cases
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