India's active cases drop below 178,000, now just 1.60% of total caseload

The number of active coronavirus cases in the country dropped to 1,77,266 on Tuesday, constituting just over 1.60 per cent of the total infection count, the Health Ministry said.

In a statement, the ministry said active cases declined by 6,916 in a 24-hour period.

"Active cases per million population is lowest in the world (128). Germany, Russia, Brazil, Italy, the UK and the USA have much higher cases per million population," it said.

The ministry said India has crossed a crucial milestone in its fight against the global pandemic as the daily new cases have touched a new low, dropping below 10,000 on Tuesday.

India Tuesday reported 9,102 cases, the lowest in 237 days, the ministry said. The daily new cases were 9,304 on June 4, 2020.

"With a sustained, pro-active and calibrated strategy of the Centre based on 'whole of government' and 'whole of society' approach, the daily new cases have seen a consistent decline. This has ensured a steady fall in daily fatalities too. The country has recorded less than 120 (117) fatalities in the last 24 hours after more than 8 months (8 months 9 days)," it said.

The Health Ministry also said 20,23,809 beneficiaries have received coronavirus vaccine shots as on January 26 till 8 AM. "In the last 24 hours, 4,08,305 people were vaccinated across 7,764 sessions. 36,378 sessions have been conducted so far," it said.

Of the total beneficiaries vaccinated, the highest number is from Karnataka (2,31,172), followed by Odisha at 1,77,090, Rajasthan at 1,61,116 and Maharashtra at 1,36,901, the ministry data showed.

The total recovered cases are 1.03 crore (1,03,45,985) as on Tuesday, which translates to a recovery Rate of 96.90 per cent, the ministry said, adding the gap between recovered and active cases continues to widen and presently stands at 1,01,68,719.