Coronavirus India Updates: Tally Tops 1.05 Crore; Nearly 17,000 New Cases Reported

Active coronavirus cases in India continued to decline at a time when the central and state governments are preparing for an immunisation programme in the country with the world’s second-worst outbreak.

India reported 16,946 new cases in a matter of 24 hours, according to the Union Health Ministry’s data as of 8 a.m. on Jan.14. That’s lower than the 17,652 patients who recovered from the virus in the same time period, taking active cases to 2.13 lakh. India had over 10 lakh live infections in mid-September.

The country is fast approaching the 1-year anniversary of the pandemic reaching its shores. The first Covid-19 case was recorded on Jan. 30, 2020, in Kerala -- a student of the Wuhan University. Since then, authorities have recorded nearly 1.05 crore confirmed coronavirus cases and over 1 crore recoveries. More than 1.51 lakh people have died from the infection.

Key Figures

• Total number of confirmed coronavirus cases: 1,05,12,093
• Active cases: 2,13,603
• Cured/discharged/migrated: 1,01,46,763
• Deaths: 1,51,727
• Number of fresh cases in the last 24 hours: 16,946
• One-day recoveries: 17,652
• One-day deaths: 198

Addressing a press briefing, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said Zydus Cadila, Sputnik V, Biological E and Gennova are other vaccines also in the pipeline which are in advanced clinical trials in India.

"In the coming days you may see some of these vaccines too approaching the drug controller for emergency use authorisation," he said.

Bhushan said Pfizer-BioNTech is available at Rs 1,431 per dose, Moderna at Rs 2,348 to Rs 2,715 per dose, Sinopharm less than Rs 5,650 per dose, Sinovac Biotech at Rs 1,027 per dose, Novavax at Rs 1,114 per dose, Gamaleya Centre at less than Rs 734 per dose and Johnson and Johnson at Rs 734 per dose.

• California opened a vaccine center “Super POD,” or point-of-dispensing site, at Disneyland. Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose Covid-19 vaccine made some progress toward approval in an early study.
• Australia defended its use of the AstraZeneca vaccine. The U.K. reported the most deaths in one day since the pandemic began.
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is mulling new measures that could allow for expanded travel, after unveiling coronavirus testing requirements for people flying into the U.S.
• Globally over 92 million people have been infected by the virus since the beginning while 1.97 million have died.