COVID-19: India reports 9K+ infections; 391 more deaths
India on Friday reported over 9,000 new COVID-19 cases with an active caseload of just under one lakh. Active cases now account for just 0.29% of the total cases, the lowest since March 2020. Correspondingly, the recovery rate was recorded at 98.35%. Meanwhile, India's daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.80%. It has been under 2% for the last 60 days.
Why does it matter?
Amid concerns over the detection of two Omicron variant cases, the overall COVID-19 situation in India is relatively stable. India's active caseload remained below the one-lakh mark for the third consecutive day on Friday. Similarly, the weekly positivity rate has also remained under 1% for nearly two weeks. Nearly half of India's active cases are concentrated in Kerala.
Over 8K patients discharged
According to the Union Health Ministry, India reported a total of 3,46,15,757 COVID-19 cases till Friday morning. The death toll reached 4,70,115. With 8,612 fresh discharges, India's recoveries stand at 3,40,45,666. In the past 24 hours, 9,216 new cases and 391 fresh fatalities were reported. The weekly positivity rate was recorded at 0.84%. It has remained under 1% the last 19 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 new cases
Maharashtra reported 796 new COVID-19 cases along with 952 more recoveries. Kerala, the second worst-hit state after Maharashtra, reported 4,700 new cases and 4,128 discharges. The third worst-hit Karnataka added 363 new cases and 191 recoveries. Tamil Nadu, the fourth worst-hit state, reported 715 new cases and 748 recoveries. Andhra Pradesh reported 159 new cases and 169 recoveries.
Over 126 crore vaccine doses administered
Till 3 pm on Friday, India had administered over 126 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses. Overall, over 46.5 crore people have been fully vaccinated, while over 79.6 crore people have received at least one dose. On Friday alone, India administered over 52 lakh more COVID-19 vaccine doses till 3 pm, including over 38 lakh second doses, and roughly 14.5 lakh first doses, according to CoWIN.
'COVAXIN likely more effective against Omicron'
The Bharat Biotech's COVAXIN is likely to be more effective against the Omicron variant, an official of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) told The Hindu Businessline. COVAXIN, a virion-inactivated vaccine, "covers the entire virus and can work against this highly mutated new variant," the official explained. This came as two cases of Omicron variant have been detected in Karnataka.
