COVID-19 cases rise to 24,684,007 in India

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in India on Sunday morning rose to 24,684,007 and the related death toll across the country stands at 270,284, India's federal health ministry said.

During the past 24 hours, 311,170 new cases and 4,077 related deaths were reported from across the country.

According to ministry officials, 20,795,335 people have been discharged from hospitals after showing improvement.

The number of active cases in the country right now is 3,618,458, the information released by the ministry further read.

Meanwhile, so far over 314 million COVID-19 tests have been conducted across the country.

A cumulative total of 31,48,50,143 samples had been tested as of May 15, 2021, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said Sunday.

Out of these tests, 1,832,950 were conducted on Saturday alone.

According to the ministry, over 182 million people have been vaccinated across the country since the beginning of the vaccination drive on Jan. 16 this year.

On May 1 the third phase of COVID-19 vaccinations was started for people who are 18 years and above. However, the third phase of vaccination is yet to start in many places or is going on at a slower pace in the wake of the severe shortage of vaccines.

Reports pouring in from many states said people are being turned away at the centres because of the shortage of vaccines.

The COVID-19 cases continue to spike in the country every day, even as the federal government has ruled out imposing a complete countrywide lockdown on the pattern of last year to contain the worsening situation. However, many states have imposed night curfews, weekend lockdowns, and complete lockdowns to break the spread of infection.

From Sunday a 14-day lockdown will come into force in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal to contain the spread of COVID-19.

A top scientific adviser to the Indian government K Vijay Raghavan recently warned the country would face a third wave of the pandemic.

Currently, India is fighting a deadly second wave of COVID-19 and the shortage of essential medical supplies including medical oxygen has emerged as a key challenge for the government.