India records 2,17,353 new Covid-19 cases and 1,185 deaths in 24 hrs, highest single-day spike

New Delhi: India reports 2,17,353 new COVID-19 cases, 1,18,302 discharges and 1,185 deaths in the last 24 hours, said Union Health Ministry on Friday.

In the last 24 hours, 1,185 COVID-related deaths were reported in the country taking the death toll to 1,74,308. As many as 2,17,353 new COVID-19 cases have been reported in India in the last 24 hours. With this, the total number of cases has gone up to 1,42,91,917. The active number of cases stands at 15,69,743.

In the last 24 hours, 1,18,302 people recovered from the disease. With this, the total recoveries reached 1,25,47,866.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research, 14,73,210 samples were tested on Thursday. And, as many as 26,34,76,625 samples have been tested across the country till April 15.

Meanwhile, the cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country stands at 11,72,23,509 till today.

The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) approved the use of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine against coronavirus in the country on Monday. Now, India has three vaccines Covishield, Covaxin and Sputnik V for its inoculation programme against COVID-19.

From April 2, the government started vaccinating all people above 45 years. India started its vaccination drive on January 16 with priority given to all healthcare and frontline workers in the first phase. The second phase started on March 1 where doses were administered to people above the age of 60 and those between 45 and 59 years with specific comorbidities.