India logs 33,376 new Covid cases, 308 deaths

According to the data, currently there are 3,91,516 active cases which constitutes 1.8 per cent of the total infections, while the national recovery rate stands at 97.49 per cent with 3,23,74,497 people having recuperated from the disease till Saturday.

With 25,010 people testing positive for the virus and 177 deaths, Kerala remains the worst-affected state, followed by Maharashtra which recorded 4,154 new cases and 44 fatalities.

Meanwhile, 54,01,96,989 samples have been tested up to Friday with 15,92,135 samples being tested in the last 24 hours, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) tweeted.

On the vaccination front, nearly 73 crore vaccines have been administered across the country, the Ministry said on Friday.

Around 58 per cent of the country's adult population has received the first dose while close to 18 per cent have been fully inoculated.

On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting to review the Covid-19 situation and progress of the vaccination drive in the country.

"In a few geographies, districts with high test positivity as well as the week-on-week test positivity rate in the country", the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said in a statement.

"It was discussed that across the world there are countries where the number of active Covid cases continues to remain high. In India too, the figures from states like Maharahstra and Kerala indicate that there can be no room for complacency," the statement added.

The Prime Minister also underscored the need to pace up the entire process to ensure increased oxygen availability, including oxygen concentrators, cylinders and PSA plants.

Meanwhile, experts are worried that festive season can play a huge role in increasing infection cases and thereby cautioning masses against mass gathering, urging them to continue following Covid-19 guidelines.
(IANS)