India records 38,949 fresh Covid cases, 542 more fatalities

New Delhi: India recorded 38,949 new COVID-19 cases, which took the infection tally to 3,10,26,829, while the death toll reached 4,12,531 with 542 more fatalities, according to Union health ministry data updated on Friday.

The active cases have declined to 4,30,422 and comprise 1.39 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate stands at 97.28 per cent, the data updated at 8 am showed.

It said that a decrease of 1,619 has been recorded in the number of active cases in a span of 24 hours.

The ministry said 19,55,910 tests were conducted on Thursday, taking the total cumulative tests conducted so far for detection of COVID-19 in the country to 44,00,23,239, while the daily positivity rate was recorded at 1.99 per cent.

The positivity rate has been less than three per cent for 25 consecutive days, it said.

The weekly positivity rate stands at 2.14 per cent, according to the health ministry.

The number of people who have recovered from the disease has increased to 3,01,83,876, while the case fatality rate has risen to 1.33 per cent, the data stated.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday that rising COVID-19 cases in some states remain a matter of concern as he asked them to take proactive measures to rule out a third wave by moving forward with the strategy of test, track, treat and 'tika (vaccine)'.

In a video interaction with chief ministers of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha, Maharashtra and Kerala, where many districts have been reporting a high number of cases, Modi said the country stands at a point in its battle with the pandemic where apprehensions about a third wave are being continuously expressed.