COVID-19: India logs 13,166 new cases; 302 more deaths
India on Friday reported over 13,000 new COVID-19 cases, a decline of around 1,000 cases from the previous day. The active caseload in the country currently stands at 1,34,235, which accounts for 0.31% of the total cases. In the past 24 hours, 13,166 new cases and 302 fatalities were reported. Meanwhile, India's COVID-19 recovery rate has reached 98.49%.
Why does this story matter?
India on Friday reported fewer COVID-19 cases than the day before. Notably, both the weekly positivity rate and active caseload are declining rapidly over the last few days. This comes after India witnessed a massive spurt in cases in December-end and at the beginning of January. The spike in cases—dubbed India's third wave—has been attributed to the highly contagious Omicron variant.
Nearly 27,000 patients discharged
According to data from the Union Health Ministry, India reported a total of 4,28,94,345 COVID-19 cases till Friday morning, while the death toll reached 5,13,226. With 26,988 fresh discharges, the number of total recoveries climbed to 4,22,46,884. The daily positivity rate and the weekly positivity rate were recorded at 1.28% and 1.48%, respectively.
Kerala adds most new cases
Maharashtra reported 1,182 new COVID-19 cases along with 2,516 more recoveries. Kerala, the second worst-hit state after Maharashtra, reported 4,064 new cases and 9,531 discharges. The third worst-hit Karnataka added 588 fresh cases and 1,692 recoveries. Tamil Nadu, the fourth worst-hit state, witnessed 575 new cases and 1,913 discharges. Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh reported 220 new cases and 472 recoveries.
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.
Over 176 crore vaccine doses administered
Till 9:30 am on Friday, India administered over 176.7 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses. Overall, over 78.4 crore people have been fully vaccinated, while more than 96.4 crore people have received one dose. On Friday alone, India administered over 54,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses till 9:30 am, including over 43,000 second doses and over 5,000 first doses, according to Co-WIN.
1.85 crore 'precautionary' doses administered
Meanwhile, India has administered over 1.85 crore "precautionary" doses since January 10. On Friday, over 2,000 healthcare/frontline workers and over 3,400 elderly people were given the precautionary dose till 9:30 am.
UK ends all COVID-19 restrictions except for wearing masks
All restrictions related to COVID-19 came to an end in the UK on Thursday under British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's "living with COVID-19 plan" laid out earlier this week. Thus, anyone testing positive for the virus will no longer be legally bound to self-isolate. However, masks will still be required in shops, health and care facilities, and public transport.
