Coronavirus pandemic: India reports 71,365 new cases with positivity rate at 4.54%; 1,217 deaths

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COVID-19 India News Updates: India recorded 71,365 new cases of the novel coronavirus, along with 1,217 deaths due to the infection in the past 24 hours. According to the data shared by the Union Health Ministry on Wednesday (February 9), the country saw a total of 1,72,211 discharges in the last 24 hours, taking the total recovery rate at around 96.46 per cent and total recoveries data reached to 4,10,12,869.

The total active cases of COVID-19 in India have declined to 8,92,828 (2.11 per cent) the ministry data showed today.

The total death toll in the country is now at 5,05,279. In India, the first death due to the COVID pandemic was reported in March 2020.

The daily positivity rate is at 4.54 per cent today. 

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According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 74,46,84,750 samples have been tested up to February 8 for COVID-19. Of these 15,71,726 samples were tested on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya informed the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday (February 8) that Omicron variant is the dominant variant in the country presently and the current surge of COVID-19 cases in the country is showing a sustained declining trend since January 21,  With the reporting of Omicron, a highly mutated variant of SARSCoV-2 virus and its classification as a Variant of Concern (VoC) by the World Health Organization (WHO), the Union Ministry of Health revised its 'Guidelines for international arrivals', Mandaviya added in a written reply.

"Omicron variant is the dominant variant in the country presently. The current surge of COVID-19 cases in the country is showing a sustained declining trend since January 21, 2022," he told.

Following a risk based approach, provisions for mandatory pre-departure and post arrival RT-PCR testing on day 8th of arrival and a mandatory home quarantine for 7 days have been made in the present guidelines for all international travellers to India. 

The Ministry of Health continues to provide technical guidance for managing various aspects of COVID-19 including containment and surveillance, testing, clinical management protocols, post-COVID sequale, etc., the minister said.

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