16.64 cr Covid cases reported across the world; surging death rates

NEW YORK: Coronavirus cases rise unabated across the globe with 166,451,351 infected by the deadly contagion. While 147,253,554 have recovered, 3,456,917 have died so far. The US remains the worst-hit country with 33,802,324, followed by India, Brazil, France and Turkey. However, in the past seven days, India has added the highest number of fresh cases at 1,984,554, followed by Brazil (461,731) and Argentina (204,941).

India witnessed 257,299 fresh coronavirus cases on Saturday, taking its tally to 26,289,290, according to MoHFW. The death count rose to 295,525 after 4,194 more patients died in the last 24 hours. Vaccinations showed a downward graph amid fears of a third wave in the next 6-8 months. Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Dr Harsh Vardhan, reviewed public health response to Covid-19 and the progress of vaccination with nine States and UTs. “Recovery outnumbers new active cases for the last 8 days consistently," the minister said.

With 36,184 cases reported in the past 24 hours, Tamil Nadu is leading the state list. It is followed by Karnataka with 32,218 new infections. Maharashtra reported 29,644 cases, Kerala 29,673 and Andhra Pradesh 20,937 cases. The case count was 19,006 for West Bengal