COVID-19: India logs 2,527 new cases, 33 more deaths
India on Saturday reported over 2,500 new COVID-19 cases, an increase of nearly 100 cases from the previous day. The country's active caseload currently stands at 15,079, which accounts for 0.04% of the total cases so far. In the past 24 hours, a total of 2,527 new cases and 33 COVID-19-related fatalities were reported. Meanwhile, the country's COVID-19 recovery rate stood at 98.75%.
Why does this story matter?
India on Saturday reported more COVID-19 cases than the day before. Meanwhile, India's active caseload and positivity rates are also recording an increasing trend. This came after India witnessed a sharp decline in cases and positivity rates over the last two months. Among states/UTs, Delhi has been adding the majority of the new cases to the daily national tally over the last few days.
1,656 patients discharged in 24 hours
According to data shared by the Union Health Ministry, India reported a total of 4,30,54,952 COVID-19 cases until Saturday morning, while the cumulative death count reached 5,22,149. With 1,656 fresh discharges, the number of total recoveries in the country climbed to 4,25,17,724. On the other hand, the daily and weekly positivity rates were recorded at 0.56% and 0.50%, respectively.
Delhi adds most number of new cases
Maharashtra—one of the worst-hit states so far—reported 121 new cases and 66 more recoveries on Saturday. Karnataka added 90 new cases and 45 recoveries, while Tamil Nadu witnessed 57 new cases and 27 discharges. However, Delhi witnessed 1,042 new cases and 757 discharges on Friday. Meanwhile, Kerala—which resumed sharing data on Monday after a brief halt—recorded 300 new cases, 217 recoveries, and 38 deaths.
India's third wave peaked in January
Notably, India witnessed a massive spurt in coronavirus cases 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 187 crore vaccine doses administered
As of Saturday morning, India has administered over 187.4 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses. Overall, over 84.9 crore people have been fully vaccinated, while more than 99.9 crore people have received one dose. On Saturday alone, India administered over 4.6 lakh COVID-19 vaccine doses till 11:00 am, including over 2.92 lakh second doses and nearly one lakh first doses, according to Co-WIN.
2.51 crore 'precautionary' doses administered
Moreover, India has administered over 2.51 crore "precautionary" doses since January 10. On Saturday, nearly 40,000 people in the age group of 18-59 years and over 40,000 people aged above 60 years were given the precautionary dose till 11:00 am.
Research found common drug effective against mild, moderate COVID-19
Meanwhile, a new study by IIT Madras has found a common anti-inflammatory drug, called indomethacin, to be an effective antiviral agent for the treatment of mild and moderate COVID-19 patients. Indomethacin is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug. It is used for treating different types of inflammation-related conditions. The IIT Madras study was reportedly published in the Nature Scientific Reports journal.
