COVID-19: India reports 6K+ infections; 132 more deaths
India on Monday reported over 6,000 new COVID-19 cases with an active caseload of over 82,000. Active cases now account for just 0.24% of the total cases, the lowest since March 2020. The recovery rate was recorded at 98.39%, the highest since March 2020. Meanwhile, India's daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.75%. It has been under 2% for the last 77 days.
Why does it matter?
India on Monday reported 7% fewer COVID-19 cases than the day before. The country also logged less than 50,000 fresh cases in the week ending Sunday. The weekly count has dropped below that mark for the first time in 19 months. However, the majority of cases remain concentrated in Kerala. Meanwhile, India's Omicron tally has reached the 163-mark on Monday.
8K patients recovered
According to the Union Health Ministry, India reported a total of 3,47,46,838 COVID-19 cases till Monday morning. The death toll reached 4,77,554. With 8,077 fresh discharges, India's recoveries stand at 3,41,87,017. In the past 24 hours, 6,563 new cases and 132 fresh fatalities were reported. The weekly positivity rate was recorded at 0.60%. It has remained under 1% the last 36 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 902 new COVID-19 cases along with 767 more recoveries. Kerala, the second worst-hit state after Maharashtra, reported 2,995 new cases and 4,160 discharges. The third worst-hit Karnataka added 300 new cases and 279 recoveries. Tamil Nadu, the fourth worst-hit state, reported 610 new cases and 682 recoveries. Andhra Pradesh reported 121 new cases and 228 recoveries.
Over 137 crore vaccine doses administered
Till 1:30 pm on Monday, India had administered nearly 137.8 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses. Overall, nearly 55 crore people have been fully vaccinated, while over 82.8 crore people have received at least one dose. On Monday alone, India administered roughly 30 lakh more COVID-19 vaccine doses till 1:30 pm, including over 23.7 lakh second doses and nearly 6.3 lakh first doses, according to CoWIN.
India's Omicron tally reaches 163
India's Omicron tally reached 163 after two more cases were detected in Delhi on Monday. With 54 Omicron cases, Maharashtra accounts for the most number of such infections. Maharashtra is followed by Delhi (24), Telangana (20), Karnataka (19), Rajasthan (17), Gujarat (11), Kerala (11), West Bengal (four), Andhra Pradesh (one), Chandigarh (one), and Tamil Nadu (one).
Delta remains dominant strain in India: ICMR
Meanwhile, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said Saturday that the Delta variant of coronavirus continues to be the dominant strain in India and has not been replaced by Omicron yet. "While Omicron numbers may increase, it may not necessarily cause a heavy burden on the healthcare system. However, states have to be on the guard," Dr. Samiran Panda, ICMR's additional director-general, said.
