NEW DELHI, March 4 (Xinhua) -- India's COVID-19 tally rose to 11,156,923 on Thursday as 17,407 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours, according to the latest data from the federal health ministry.
According to the official data, the death toll mounted to 157,435 as 89 COVID-19 patients died since Wednesday morning.
There are still 173,413 active cases in the country, while 10,826,075 people have been discharged so far from hospitals after medical treatment. There was an increase of 3,287 active cases during the previous 24 hours.
The number of daily active cases had been on the rise over the past few days.
The phase 2 of the ongoing COVID-19 vaccine drive began in the country on Monday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi taking his first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, Covaxin, manufactured by Bharat Biotech company.
The phase 2 of the vaccination drive would inoculate those above the age of 60 and those over 45 with comorbidities.
January 16 was a crucial day in India's fight against the pandemic as the nationwide vaccination drive was kicked off during the day. So far more than 16.6 million people, mainly health workers, have been vaccinated across the country.
Meanwhile, the federal government has ramped up COVID-19 testing facilities across the country, even as more than 219 million tests have been conducted so far.
As many as 219,178,908 tests were conducted till Wednesday, out of which 775,631 tests were conducted on Wednesday alone, according to the latest data issued by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Thursday.
The national capital Delhi, which has been one of the most COVID-19 affected places in the country, has been witnessing comparatively a lesser number of cases over past several months. As many as 240 new cases and three deaths were registered in the national capital through Wednesday.
So far as many as 10,914 people have died in the national capital due to COVID-19, confirmed the Delhi's health department.
Two types of vaccines are being administered to the people in India. While the Covishield vaccine, made by the Serum Institute of India (SII), was supplied to all states, the Covaxin vaccine, made by the Bharat Biotech International Limited, was supplied to only 12 states. Enditem