India reported more than 3 lakh new Covid-19 cases for the ninth straight day on Friday. With 386,452 new Covid-19 cases, the tally reached 18,762,976, according to the Union Health ministry data. 3,498 patients have succumbed to the viral disease in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll to 208,330. Active caseload, which crossed the three-million-mark on Thursday currently stands at 3,170,228. Meanwhile, with just a day to go for opening up the vaccination drive for those in the 18-45 age bracket, more and more states are saying they will be unable to start inoculation because of shortage.