nCoV: India's active cases surge to 1,50,000-mark

After recording 16,738 fresh Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours, India's active cases has once again mounted to 1,50,000-mark, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Thursday.

With the surge in daily infection cases, the national caseload has increased to 11,046,914.

Meanwhile, the cumulative number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered to healthcare and frontline workers in the country has crossed 12.7 million, the Union health ministry said.

On Wednesday, the Cabinet also announced that the Covid-19 vaccination drive will enter its second phase on March 1 for citizens above 60 years of age and those over 45 years with comorbidities.

The vaccine will be available free of cost at 10,000-odd government healthcare facilities. However, the beneficiaries will have to pay at the estimated 20,000 private facilities that are expected to be roped in.

"The cost of vaccination in the private sector will be announced by the Union Health Ministry in the next two-three days. We are in discussions with the private hospitals," Union Information & Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar announced the Cabinet decision.

This decision came in the backdrop of rising number of daily COVID-19 cases in the state of Maharashtra, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Jammu and Kashmir, where the government has sent Three-member multi-disciplinary teams to work closely with state administration to keep a check on rapidly increasing cases in the emergence of the new strain.

According to the Health Ministry, as of February 24, the vaccination coverage stood at 1,23,66,633.