COVID-19: India reports 2.7L cases; Omicron tally reaches 7.7K
India on Sunday reported over 2.7 lakh new COVID-19 cases with an active caseload of 15.5 lakh. Active cases now account for 4.18% of the total cases. Meanwhile, India's Omicron tally reached 7,743 on Sunday. Notably, this is a 28.17% increase since Saturday. Currently, India's recovery rate stands at 94.51%, while the daily positivity rate recorded at 16.28%.
Why does this story matter?
India on Sunday reported a marginally higher number of COVID-19 cases than the day before. Both active caseload and positivity rates have also been increasing at an alarming rate in the country. The spike in infections—dubbed India's "third wave"—has been attributed to the highly contagious Omicron variant of coronavirus. Most new infections remain concentrated in the Maharashtra state.
1.3L patients discharged
According to the Union Health Ministry, India reported a total of 3,71,22,164 COVID-19 cases till Sunday morning. The death toll reached 4,86,066. With 1,38,331 fresh discharges, the recoveries stand at 3,50,85,721. In the past 24 hours, 2,71,202 new cases and 314 fresh fatalities were reported. The weekly positivity rate was recorded at 13.69%.
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 have declined since the second wave peaked, India crossed the three-crore mark on June 23. India crossed the one-crore mark on December 19, 2020, and the two-crore mark on May 4, 2021.
Maharashtra adds majority of cases
Maharashtra reported 42,462 new COVID-19 cases along with 39,646 more recoveries. Kerala, the second worst-hit state after Maharashtra, reported 17,755 new cases and 3,819 discharges. The third worst-hit Karnataka added 32,793 fresh cases and 4,273 recoveries. Tamil Nadu, the fourth worst-hit state, reported 23,989 new cases and 10,988 discharges. Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh reported 4,955 new cases and 397 recoveries.
Over 156 crore vaccine doses administered
Till 11 am on Sunday, India administered nearly 156.8 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses. Overall, more than 65.4 crore people have been fully vaccinated, while nearly 91 crore people have received at least one dose. On Sunday alone, India administered over 2.6 lakh COVID-19 vaccine doses till 11 am, including almost 1.4 lakh second doses and roughly one lakh first doses, according to Co-WIN.
Over 41L precautionary doses administered
Meanwhile, India has administered over 41 lakh "precautionary" doses since Monday. On Sunday alone, over 9,000 healthcare/frontline workers and nearly 4,500 elderly people were given the precautionary dose till 11 am. Further, 3.5 crore teenagers aged 15-18 years have been administered the first dose.
Expect more worrisome variants after Omicron: Scientists
Omicron's whirlwind advance practically ensures it won't be the last version of the coronavirus, scientists have warned. Scientists said every infection provides a chance for the virus to mutate. While it is not clear how they might shape the pandemic, there is no guarantee newer variants will cause milder illness, they said. There is also doubt that existing vaccines will work against them.
