As many as 2.59 Lakh nCoV cases & 1761 deaths reported in past 24 hrs

New Delhi: India on Tuesday reported 2,59,170 new Covid cases and 1,761 deaths in the last 24 hours, Ministry of Health and Family welfare data said.With this surge, the Covid tally at present in the country is at 1,53,21,089 and the total death toll is at 1,80,530.

As many as1,54,761 discharges were made in the last 24 hours, pushing the total recoveries to 1,31,08,582, as per Union Health Ministry.The country has 20,31,977 active cases.

Maharashtra, the country's worst-impacted state, reported 58,924 fresh coronavirus cases, taking the tally to over 38.98 lakh, while 351 new fatalities pushed the death count to 60,824. In terms of the total caseload, Maharashtra is followed by the southern states of Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

With 32,76,555 people being administered the COVID-19 vaccine in the past 24 hrs, the overall tally has mounted to 12,71,29,113.Meanwhile, on Monday, the Centre announced a 'liberalised and accelerated Phase 3 strategy of Covid-19 vaccination from May 1', stating that the pricing, procurement, eligibility and administration of coronavirus vaccines being will be made flexible in Phase 3 of the world’s largest vaccination drive.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called a meeting with vaccine manufacturers at 1800 hrs on Tuesday. During the meeting, the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) will make a presentation and also coordinate with all the participants, sources said.

Those expected to be present include representatives of top drugmakers from India and abroad, including the companies whose vaccines have already been approved by the Government of India.

The overall global Covid-19 caseload has topped 141.8 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 3.02 million, according to Johns Hopkins University.

In its latest update on Tuesday morning, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload and death toll stood at 141,813,257 and 3,027,353, respectively. The US is the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 31,737,347 and 567,690, respectively, according to the CSSE. In terms of infections, India follows in the second place with 15,061,919 cases.(UNI)