COVID-19: India logs over 1.6L cases; 1192 more deaths
India on Tuesday reported over 1.6 lakh new COVID-19 cases, a decline of over 40,000 cases from the previous day. The active caseload currently stands at 17,43,059, which accounts for 4.20% of the total cases. Meanwhile, India's COVID-19 recovery rate has also climbed to 94.60%. The daily positivity rate also witnessed a sharp decline and currently stands at 11.69%.
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The country reported fewer COVID-19 cases than the day before. Both daily positivity rate and active caseload have also recorded a decline on Tuesday. Notably, India registered less than two lakh fresh daily cases on Tuesday after a long gap. The surge in cases witnessed in India has been attributed to the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
2.5L patients discharged
According to the Union Health Ministry, India reported a total of 4,14,69,499 COVID-19 cases till Tuesday morning. The death toll reached 4,96,242. With 2,54,076 fresh discharges, the number of total recoveries climbed to 3,92,30,198. In the past 24 hours, 1,67,059 new cases and 1192 fatalities were reported. The weekly positivity rate was recorded at 15.25%.
Kerala adds most new cases
Maharashtra reported 35,453 new COVID-19 cases along with 15,140 more recoveries. Kerala, the second worst-hit state after Maharashtra, reported 42,154 new cases and 38,458 discharges. The third worst-hit Karnataka added 24,172 fresh cases and 30,869 recoveries. Tamil Nadu, the fourth worst-hit state, witnessed 19,280 new cases and 25,056 discharges. Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh reported 5,879 new cases and 11,384 recoveries.
Over 166 crore vaccine doses administered
Till 10:30 am on Tuesday, India administered over 166.6 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses. Overall, more than 71.1 crore people have been fully vaccinated, while over 94.3 crore people have received at least one dose. On Tuesday alone, India administered over 4.4 lakh COVID-19 vaccine doses till 10:30 am, including nearly 3 lakh second doses and 1 lakh first doses, according to Co-WIN.
Over 1 crore 'precautionary' doses administered
Meanwhile, India has administered over 1.19 crore "precautionary" doses since January 10. On Tuesday, over 23,000 healthcare/frontline workers and nearly 45,000 elderly people were given the precautionary dose till 10:30 am.
India's second wave peaked on May 7
India's second wave peaked on May 7, 2021, 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 declined after the second wave peaked, India crossed the three-crore mark on June 23. The country crossed the one-crore mark on December 19, 2020, and the two-crore mark on May 4, 2021.
Vaccine for children under 5 likely to available soon: Report
COVID-19 vaccine for children under 5 years of age is likely to be available in the United States by February-end, reports said. The US Food and Drugs Administration has reportedly urged companies to submit the application to begin the review process for authorization. Pfizer Inc and Germany's BioNTech SE are expected to submit an emergency use authorization request on Tuesday for vaccines for children.
