With record number of 34,884 Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, the total number of cases in India crossed the 1 million mark as it reached to 1,040,457.

With a surge in Covid-19 cases in Bihar, West Bengal, Assam and Odisha, the Union health ministry has asked these states to make renewed efforts to suppress transmission of the virus and keep case fatality rate below one per cent.

More than 25,000 people have died in India after testing positive for COVID-19.

While some of the top affected states in the country are showing signs of the virus slowing down, new hotspots are emerging from states like Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh where Covid-19 infections are cases on the rise.

A massive chunk of India’s coronavirus load comes from the top affected cities – most in Maharashtra. Among the top 10 cities based on active cases, Delhi has the lowest proportion of active cases – 15.2 percent.

Meanwhile, in another development, Human clinical trials for Covaxin, a vaccine candidate for Covaxin, a vaccine candidate for Covid-19 being developed by Bharat Biotech has been initiated across the country in 375volunteers, the company sources said on Friday.

“India’s first indigenous Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin initiated phase-1 clinical trials across the country on 15th July 2020. This is a randomised, double-blind, placebo- controlled clinical trial in 375 volunteers in India,” the sources said.