Amid global fears over the new mutant strains of coronavirus, detected in the United Kingdom and South Africa, India recorded 20,549 fresh infections in the last 24 hours, 25 per cent higher than yesterday. India’s tally has surged to 1,02,44,852; 1.48 lakh deaths linked to the disease have been recorded so far. A consortium of 10 government labs has started genome sequencing of new Sars-CoV-2 variant believed to be significantly more infectious; 20 patients have been found to be infected with the new strain in the last two days.

Source: 20,549 Fresh COVID-19 Cases In India, 25% Higher Than Yesterday