India records 92,596 Covid cases in 24 hrs, 6,098 more than Tuesday's figure

India on Wednesday logged 92,596 new Covid infections in 24 hours, slightly above the number recorded on Tuesday though it remained less than one lakh cases for the second straight day, show the figures of the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry.

On Tuesday, June 8, India recorded 86,498 cases, lowest since April 2 when the country logged 89,129 new cases. The figure showed a slight increase of 6,098, compared to the figures for Tuesday, while 2,219 more people succumbed to the pandemic in the past 24 hours.

India's overall tally of Covid-19 cases now stands at 2,90,89,069 with 12,31,415 active cases and 3,53,528 deaths so far. After battling a brutal second wave for weeks, fresh Covid cases came down below the three lakh-mark for the first time on May 17 after touching record high of 4,14,188 on May 7.

In the last three weeks, India has recorded over 93,000 deaths. India registered record fatalities due to Covid-19 on May 21 with 4,529 deaths -- the highest from Covid infection in any country in a day since the coronavirus outbreak was reported in China's Wuhan in December 2019. It surpassed 4,468 deaths in the US on January 12, 2021, and 4,211 in Brazil on April 6, 2021.

According to the Health Ministry, a total of 1,62,664 people have been discharged in the last 24 hours, taking the total discharge to 2,75,04,126 till date.

Vaccination Drive

The Health Ministry said that a total of 23,90,58,360 people have been vaccinated so far in the country, including 27,76,096 who were administered vaccines in the last 24 hours.

In another move,  the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) on Tuesday revised the price of Covishield at Rs 780 per dose, Covaxin at Rs 1,410 and Russian vaccine Sputnik V at Rs 1,145 per dose. This also includes taxes as well as a Rs 150 service charge for the hospitals.

Meanwhile, the Centre has also asked the state government to ensure that private hospitals don't levy more than Rs 150 as service charge. The state governments have been asked to monitor the private hospitals regularly and take strict action against any private vaccination centre charging more.

"The price of vaccine doses for private hospitals would be declared by each manufacturer, and any subsequent changes would be notified in advance. The private hospitals may charge up to a maximum of Rs 150 per dose as service charges. State government may monitor the price being charged," according to a ministry circular.