India records 22,065 new COVID-19 cases, lowest daily rise in over 5 months

India has recorded 22,065 fresh coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, taking the country’s tally rise to 99,06,165. With the new coronavirus cases, India’s total number of cases is now inching close to the 1 crore-mark.

Apart from the fresh cases, India has also recorded 354 Covid-19 deaths and the death toll has now reached 1,43,709.

Among the 99 lakh coronavirus cases, the total number of active cases is at 3,39,820. The total number of discharged cases in India are at 94,22,636 with 34,477 new discharges recorded in the last 24 hours.

Maharashtra is followed by four southern states in terms of the Covid case count – Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

The Centre asked states to identify and prioritise those below the age of 50 with comorbidities.

A total of 15,55,60,655 samples were tested for COVID-19 up to 14th December. Of these, 9,93,665 samples were tested yesterday, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research.

Global coronavirus infections have soared past 7.28 crore, with the US remaining the country hit hardest by far by the health crisis gripping the world, with over three lakh deaths.

On the global front, the biggest vaccination drive in American history commenced Monday with a critical care nurse becoming the first person to get vaccinated for Covid-19 in the country. Canada too administered its first dosage by vaccinating five front line workers in Ontario.