New Delhi (TIP): With 15,223 new coronavirus infections reported in the last 24 hours, India on Thursday, Jan 21,  continued with its streak of low single-day cases, increasing the overall tally to 1,06,10,883, health officials said. For the past 14 days, the country has been recording less than 20,000 daily new infections even as the toll remained below 300-mark for the past 24 days. India on Tuesday reported 10,064 new coronavirus infections, the lowest single-day spike in seven months. The country had recorded over 10,000 cases on June 6 last year for the first time, and within that week it had hovered around the same number before a steady climb that took the daily figures close to a lakh cases in September. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Thursday said that with 151 fresh deaths, the overall toll in India stood at 1,52,869. As per the Ministry’s data, 1,02,65,706 people have recovered so far and currently there are 1,92,308 active cases.

The recovery rate stands at 96.70 per cent, while the fatality rate at 1.44 per cent. About 72 per cent of the daily new cases are reported from six states — Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka. The nationwide immunisation drive began across the country on January 16, with approval of two Covid vaccines in the country. As many as 8,06,484 beneficiaries have received the Covid vaccines jabs so far, with 1,31,649 people inoculated on Wednesday.

France‘s daily COVID-19  cases hit two-month high

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in France hit a two-month high at 26,784, health authorities said. A higher daily tally, at 28,393, was registered on Nov. 18, 2020, according to official data. Meanwhile, the country’s coronavirus death toll increased by 310 within a day. Currently, a total of 25,686 people are hospitalized, 2,852 of them in intensive care. The two tallies rose by 119 and 13 respectively in the last 24 hours. To date, France has recorded 2,965,117 people having caught COVID-19, of whom 71,652 have died.

Since Saturday, a nationwide curfew starting at 6 p.m. instead of 8 p.m. has been put into effect to contain the viral circulation amid the spread of highly infectious virus variants. “The curfew is an effective protection to limit the circulation of the COVID-19,” government spokesman Gabriel Attal said early Wednesday after a cabinet meeting.

“Let’s give this curfew a chance,” he said, noting that an earlier curfew imposed in the worst-hit departments since early January had a “positive impact on the virus circulation.” “Obviously, if the situation deteriorates in a significant way, other national measures will be decided,” Attal added. The earlier nationwide curfew was among a series of stricter COVID-19 rules announced by French Prime Minister Jean Castex last week. According to the rules, non-European travelers arriving in France would have to present a negative COVID-19 test less than 72 hours before boarding their flights. They would have to self-quarantine for seven days and then take a second test.

Another 107,000 people have been vaccinated against COVID-19 in the past 24 hours in France, bringing the total to 692,777 since the start of the campaign, reported BFM TV. As the world is struggling to contain the pandemic, vaccination is underway in France and some other countries with the already-authorized coronavirus vaccines.