New Delhi (TIP)- India on Friday, Jan 14,  recorded 2,64,202 fresh cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pushing the active caseload to 12,72,073. The latest figures, as available from the Union ministry of health and family welfare, are 6.7 per cent higher than Thursday’s single-day count of 2,47,417. The daily positivity rate now stood at 14.78 per cent, while the weekly positivity rate was at 11.83 per cent. The number of confirmed cases of the Omicron variant that is driving the latest surge of the pandemic currently stood at 5,753. As many as 1,09,345 patients recovered from the viral disease in the last 24 hours taking the total number of recoveries to 3,48,24,706.

The country recorded 315 deaths due to related complications pushing the cumulative toll to 4,85,350.

India has so far administered 155.39 crore doses of vaccines against the viral disease under the nationwide programme, the ministry said. A total of 69.90 crore samples have so far been tested for the viral, of which 17,87,457 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday held a virtual meeting with chief ministers wherein he urged them to be alert and careful, but also stressed the need to not panic. The meeting is the first time Modi met the chief ministers to discuss Covid-19 since the third wave began.

Restrict use of Molnupiravir pill, ICMR warns again

In its second warning against the use of Molnupiravir, the world’s first anti-Covid oral pill developed by Merck, the Indian Council of Medical Research today said the harms of the anti-viral pill far outweigh its benefits.

The ICMR noted irrational use of the pill which the Drug Controller General of India approved on December 28 last year and said while the pill had been approved in the UK and Denmark, it has not made to the Covid treatment guidelines there also. In India, national task force experts have for the third time unanimously rejected the inclusion of the drug in Covid-19 treatment guidelines.

Balram Bhargava, ICMR chief, said currently available synthesised evidence was reviewed and members unanimously agreed that the medicine did not merit inclusion in the national Covid treatment guidelines. The emerging evidence would be constantly reviewed, he added.

He added that the current window of application appeared extremely narrow for Molnupiravir with relevance only to the elderly and the unvaccinated with other co-morbidities except diabetes. The Health Ministry said the medicine was to be administered conditionally and was not to be given to people under 18 years.