The daily count of fresh COVID-19 infections in India surged to 8,329 in the last 24 hours, which is 745 more infections than the previous day, according data released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

With this surge, the active COVID caseload in the country stands at 40,370 with the daily positivity rate at 2.41 per cent. The weekly positivity rate was recorded to be 1.75 per cent.

The Centre is reported to have advised five states– Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu– to closely monitor emerging clusters, step up testing for early detection of cases in order to check the spread. They have also been asked to send samples from infected individuals for genome sequencing to keep a close watch for any new strains of coronavirus that may emerge. 

Meanwhile, the country has administered more than 194.92 crore vaccine doses so far under the nationwide vaccination drive.

COVID-19 vaccination for the age group 12-14 years began on March 16, 2022. So far, more than 3.50 crore adolescents have been administered the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.