India sees surge in new COVID-19 cases, reports 18,855 infection

India reported 18,855 new COVID-19 cases, 20,746 discharges and 163 deaths in last 24 hours, informed Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry on Friday. With that, the total cases of COVID-19 in the country has escalated to 1,07,20,048 including 1,71,686 active cases and 1,03,94,352 total discharges.

The death toll due to the COVID-19 virus has mounted to 1,54,010, including the new deaths. “A total of 19,50,81,079 samples have been tested for COVID-19 up to January 2. Of these, 7,42,306 samples were tested yesterday,” informed Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) today.

The Government of India on Thursday extended the ban on international scheduled commercial flights to and from India till February 28 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the restriction shall not apply to international all-cargo operations and flights approved by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).