COVID-19: India logs 3,688 new cases, 50 more deaths
India on Saturday reported over 3,600 new COVID-19 cases, an increase of over 300 cases from the previous day. The country's active caseload currently stands at 18,684, which accounts for 0.04% of the total cases recorded so far. In the past 24 hours, a total of 3,688 new cases and 50 COVID-19-related fatalities were recorded. Meanwhile, the country's recovery rate stood at 98.74%.
Why does this story matter?
India has been witnessing a surge in COVID-19 cases over the past two weeks. On Saturday, too, the country reported higher infections compared to the day before. The active caseload and positivity rates have also witnessed a gradual rise over the past few days. Among the states and union territories, Delhi has been adding the most number of cases to the daily national tally.
Over 2,700 patients discharged in 24 hours
According to data shared by the Union Health Ministry, India reported a total of 4,30,75,864 COVID-19 cases until Saturday morning, while the cumulative death count reached 5,23,803. With 2,755 fresh discharges, the number of total recoveries in the country climbed to 4,25,33,377. On the other hand, the daily and weekly positivity rates were recorded at 0.74% and 0.66%, respectively.
Delhi adds over 1,600 new cases
Maharashtra—one of the worst-hit states so far—recorded 148 fresh cases and 128 more recoveries on Friday. Karnataka added 133 new cases and 147 recoveries, while Tamil Nadu witnessed 54 fresh cases and 35 discharges. On the other hand, Delhi reported the maximum number of new cases at 1,607 and 1,246 discharges. Meanwhile, Kerala recorded 337 more COVID-19 cases and 353 recoveries on Friday.
India's third wave peaked in January
Notably, India witnessed a massive spurt in 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, it was lower compared to the second wave, when 4.14 lakh single-day infections were recorded at the peak on May 7, 2021.
Over 188.9 crore vaccine doses administered
As of Saturday morning, India had administered over 188.9 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses. Overall, over 85.9 crore people have been fully vaccinated, while more than 100.3 crore people have received at least one dose. On Saturday alone, India administered over 4.6 lakh COVID-19 vaccine doses till 1:00 pm, including over 3.1 lakh second doses and nearly 93,751 first doses, according to the Co-WIN dashboard.
2.68 crore 'precautionary' doses administered
Moreover, India has administered over 2.68 crore "precautionary" doses since January 10. On Saturday, over 1.14 lakh people in the age group of 18-59 years and nearly 90,000 people aged above 60 years were given the precautionary dose till 2:00 pm.
30% people contracted COVID-19 even after boosters: Study
Meanwhile, a recent study on 6,000 people revealed that 30% of participants contracted COVID-19 in the third wave despite receiving a booster. However, this was lesser compared to people who were infected after taking their second dose (45%). "Our study proves...vaccine protects against severity...but it alone cannot stop one from picking up the infection again," said the study's main author, Kochi-based Dr. Rajeev Jayadevan.
