Confirmed coronavirus cases in India are set to hit the 1-crore mark by Saturday at a time when the country has seen significant easing in both new infections and deaths.
India reported 22,890 new cases in a matter of 24 hours taking the total tally to nearly 99.8 lakh in the world’s second-worst infected nation, according to the Health Ministry’s update as of 8 a.m. on Dec. 18.
New infections have remained below 30,000 for the fifth straight day, a significant improvement from the daily tally of nearly 1 lakh reported in mid-September. One-day deaths too have fallen below 400 in the last six days. At over 31,000, daily recoveries continued to surpass new cases for over two weeks now. Active cases have fallen below the 3.2-lakh mark.
Key Figures
- Total number of confirmed coronavirus cases: 99,79,447
- Active cases: 3,13,831
- Cured/discharged/migrated: 95,20,827
- Deaths: 1,44,789
- Number of fresh cases in 24 hours: 22,890
- One-day recoveries: 31,087
- One-day deaths: 338
Global Update
Moderna Inc.’s Covid-19 vaccine won backing from a panel of experts who advise U.S. regulators, setting the stage for its shot to be the second vaccine cleared in the U.S. Pfizer Inc. said it has shipped all 2.9 million doses that the U.S. government ordered this week, while governors from several states say the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told them they will get fewer doses than planned.
In Australia, Sydney is battling to contain an outbreak with swift state restrictions, while South Korea’s daily cases again topped 1,000 for a third straight day.
Globally, confirmed cases have topped the 74.7 million mark with 1.6 million dead.
