COVID-19: India reports 7K+ infections; 391 more deaths
India on Friday reported over 7,000 new COVID-19 cases with an active caseload of over 86,000. Active cases now account for just 0.25% of the total cases, the lowest since March 2020. The recovery rate was recorded at 98.38%, the highest since March 2020. Meanwhile, India's daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.59%. It has been under 2% for the last 74 days.
Why does it matter?
India on Friday reported fewer daily COVID-19 cases than the day before. However, India's weekly positivity rate and active caseload continue to show signs of improvement. Incidentally, the majority of active cases are concentrated in Kerala. Meanwhile, the number of Omicron cases is gradually increasing in India, with its tally nearing 100.
Nearly 8k patients recovered
According to the Union Health Ministry, India reported a total of 3,47,26,049 COVID-19 cases till Friday morning. The death toll reached 4,76,869. With 7,886 fresh discharges, India's recoveries stand at 3,41,62,765. In the past 24 hours, 7,447 new cases and 391 fresh fatalities were reported. The weekly positivity rate was recorded at 0.63%. It has remained under 1% the last 33 days.
India's second wave peaked on May 7
India's second wave peaked on May 7, when 4.14 lakh single-day cases were reported, over four times the number of cases reported during the first wave in mid-September 2020. Although infections have declined since the second wave peaked, India crossed the three crore-mark on June 23. India had crossed the one crore-mark on December 19, 2020, and the 2 crore-mark on May 4, 2021.
Kerala adds majority of cases
Maharashtra reported 877 new COVID-19 cases along with 632 more recoveries. Kerala, the second worst-hit state after Maharashtra, reported 3,404 new cases and 4,145 discharges. The third worst-hit Karnataka added 303 new cases and 322 recoveries. Tamil Nadu, the fourth worst-hit state, reported 627 new cases and 687 recoveries. Andhra Pradesh reported 148 new cases and 152 recoveries.
Over 136 crore vaccine doses administered
Till 2:30 pm on Friday, India had administered over 136.3 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses. Overall, over 53.8 crore people have been fully vaccinated, while over 82.5 crore people have received at least one dose. On Friday alone, India administered over 40.4 lakh more COVID-19 vaccine doses till 2:30 pm, including over 31.6 lakh second doses and 8.8 lakh first doses, according to CoWIN.
India's Omicron tally reaches 97
India's Omicron tally reached 97 after 10 more cases were detected in Delhi on Friday. On Thursday, India reported 14 fresh COVID-19 cases involving the Omicron variant. On Thursday, Karnataka reported five new cases, while Delhi and Telangana saw four each and Gujarat one. Notably, the majority of Omicron cases are concentrated in Maharashtra (32).
UN chief calls for faster vaccinations
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Thursday the world cannot "defeat a pandemic in an uncoordinated way." He urged countries to vaccinate 40% of the world's population by the year-end and 70% by the middle of 2022. This comes as 98 countries have not been able to meet the year-end target. Moreover, 40 countries have not been able to vaccinate 10% of their population.
