NEW DELHI: Stringent protocols and monitoring over the New Year’s emerges beneficial as the Union Health Ministry on Monday recorded a decline in daily Covid-19 cases as only 173 fresh cases in the past 24 hours. The tally of active cases now stood at 4.46 crore (4,46,78,822).

The active caseload stood at 2,670 accounting for 0.01 per cent of the total infections. Meanwhile, the death toll rose to 5,30,707 with two fatalities – one reconciled by Kerala and one reported by Uttarakhand — in the last 24 hours.
The recovery rate stood at 98.80 percent. So far 4,41,45, 445 infected individuals have recuperated. Under the nationwide vaccination drive- 220.10 crore beneficiaries have been immunized.

India along with several other nations revoked its COVID-19 norms in view of the sudden uptick in coronavirus cases in its neighboring country- China; the focal point of infection. The union govt has extended the cap on trade margin on Oxygen prices for three months. With the revision, the fixed price policy on Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO), oxygen cylinders, and oxygen concentrators will be valid until March 31. This capped trade margin also applies to five medical devices — pulse oximeters, blood pressure monitoring machines, nebulizers, digital thermometers, and glucometers.