Over 259,000 fresh cases reported
India reported 2,59,551 fresh coronavirus infections on Friday, taking the cumulative caseload to 26 million, according to central health ministry data. The country saw 4,209 deaths due to the pandemic, taking the death toll to 291,331. The active caseload is at 3 million, while the total recoveries have surged to 22.7 million. As many as 191.8 million shots have been administered since the nationwide inoculation programme kicked off on January 16. Of these, 1.5 million were given on Thursday. Read more
Armed forces stave off second wave thanks to vaccines, strict protocols
The armed forces