COVID-19: India reports 1,007 new cases, one death
India on Thursday reported over 1,000 new COVID-19 cases, a decline of over 80 cases from the previous day. The country's active caseload currently stands at 11,058, which accounts for 0.03% of the total cases so far. In the past 24 hours, a total of 1,007 new cases and one fatality were reported. Meanwhile, India's COVID-19 recovery rate stood at 98.76%.
Why does this story matter?
India on Thursday reported fewer COVID-19 cases than the day before. However, the active caseload witnessed a slight increase from the day before. Meanwhile, Delhi has again been witnessing a surge in COVID-19 cases lately, raising concern among authorities. Notably, India has withdrawn almost all COVID-19-related restrictions from March 31, 2022, in view of the declining number of daily COVID-19 cases.
818 patients discharged
According to data shared by the Union Health Ministry, India reported a total of 4,30,39,023 COVID-19 cases until Thursday morning, while the cumulative death count reached 5,21,737. With 818 fresh discharges, the number of total recoveries in the country climbed to 4,25,06,228. On the other hand, the daily and weekly positivity rates were recorded at 0.23% and 0.25%, respectively.
Delhi adds most new cases
Maharashtra—one of the worst-hit states so far—reported 124 new COVID-19 cases, 113 more recoveries, and one death on Wednesday. Karnataka added 55 new cases and 62 recoveries, while Tamil Nadu witnessed 29 new cases and 27 discharges. Delhi reported 299 new cases and 173 recovered on Wednesday. Kerala on Monday announced that it will not update COVID-19 data henceforth, noting a decline in infections.
India's third wave peaked in January
Notably, India witnessed a massive spurt in coronavirus infections in December-end and at the beginning of January—dubbed India's third wave—due to the highly contagious Omicron variant. The third wave peaked on January 21, 2022, when 3.47 lakh single-day cases were recorded. However, this was lower compared to the second wave, when 4.14 lakh single-day infections were recorded at a peak on May 7, 2021.
Over 186 crore vaccine doses administered
As of Thursday morning, India has administered over 186.1 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses. Overall, over 84.1 crore people have been fully vaccinated, while more than 99.67 crore people have received one dose. On Thursday alone, India administered over 83,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses till 10:30 am, including over 46,000 second doses and nearly 20,000 first doses, according to Co-WIN.
2.36 crore precautionary doses administered
Moreover, India has administered over 2.36 crore "precautionary" doses since January 10. On Thursday, nearly 10,000 people in the age group of 18-59 years and nearly 11,000 people aged over 60 years were given the precautionary dose till 10:30 am.
COVID-19 still a global emergency: WHO experts
The World Health Organization's emergency committee on COVID-19 on Wednesday unanimously declared that the novel coronavirus continues to be a major public health danger, urging countries to not let their guard down. WHO experts said the pandemic is far from being over and "the circulation of the virus is still very active, mortality remains high and the virus is evolving in an unpredictable way."
