Coronavirus News Highlights: Today is the 302nd day since India implemented a nationwide lockdown to help curb the novel coronavirus pandemic. As many as 13,823 new COVID-19 infections were reported in the country in the last 24 hours, taking the cumulative caseload to 1,05,95,660 on Wednesday, the Union Health Ministry said. With 16,988 more recoveries, the total number of discharges reached 1,02,45,741. The death toll mounted to 1,52,718 after 162 more deaths were recorded in
the last 24 hours. At present, the country's active coronavirus cases stand at 1,97,201. According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a total of 18,85,66,947 samples tested for COVID-19 up to January 18, of which 7,64,120 samples were tested on Tuesday. Regarding the nationwide vaccination drive, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MHFW) said that the cumulative number of healthcare workers vaccinated against COVID-19 has touched 6,31,417 till 6 pm on Tuesday. Globally, more than 9.6 crore people have been infected by the coronavirus and 20.54 lakh have died so far. India, along with many countries, has granted emergency use authorization for COVID-19 vaccines and has started the process of vaccinating healthcare workers and high-risk groups. India's regulator has granted restricted emergency use approval for two vaccines -- Covishield and Covaxin.
