COVID-19: India reports 2.8L cases; Omicron tally nears 9K
India on Wednesday reported over 2.8 lakh new COVID-19 cases with an active caseload of 18,31,000. Active cases now account for 4.83% of the total cases. Meanwhile, India's Omicron tally reached 8,961 on Wednesday. Notably, this marks a 0.79% increase since Tuesday. Currently, India's recovery rate stands at 93.88%, while the daily positivity rate was recorded at 15.13%.
Why does this story matter?
India on Wednesday reported a higher number of COVID-19 cases than the day before. Notably, the active caseload continues to increase at an alarming rate. The spike in infections—dubbed India's "third wave"—has been attributed to the highly contagious Omicron variant of coronavirus. Omicron is said to be responsible for spikes in infections worldwide which has forced India and several countries to impose lockdown-like restrictions.
Over 1.8L patients discharged
According to the Union Health Ministry, India reported a total of 3,79,01,241 COVID-19 cases till Wednesday morning. The death toll reached 4,87,202. With 1,88,157 fresh discharges, the number of total recoveries climbed to 3,55,83,039. In the past 24 hours, 2,82,970 new cases and 441 fresh fatalities were reported. The weekly positivity rate was recorded at 15.53%.
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.
Karnataka adds most new cases
Maharashtra reported 39,207 new COVID-19 cases along with 38,824 more recoveries. Kerala, the second worst-hit state after Maharashtra, reported 28,481 new cases and 7,303 discharges. The third worst-hit Karnataka added 41,457 fresh cases and 8,353 recoveries. Tamil Nadu, the fourth worst-hit state, reported 23,888 new cases and 15,036 discharges. Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh reported 6,996 new cases and 1,066 recoveries.
Nearly 159 crore vaccine doses administered
Till 10:30 am on Wednesday, India administered over 158.9 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses. Overall, more than 66.5 crore people have been fully vaccinated, while over 91.7 crore people have received at least one dose. On Wednesday alone, India administered over two lakh COVID-19 vaccine doses till 10:30 am, including over one lakh second doses and over 60,000 first doses, according to Co-WIN.
Over 55 lakh precautionary doses administered
Meanwhile, India has administered over 55 lakh "precautionary" doses since January 10. On Wednesday alone, over 15,000 healthcare/frontline workers and more than 22,600 elderly people were given the precautionary dose till 10:30 am.
Government flags decline in COVID-19 testing
The Union Health Ministry on Tuesday expressed concern over the decline in COVID-19 testing in many states and union territories. It urged all states/UTs to increase the pace of testing "in a strategic manner" keeping in view the case-positivity trend in specific geographies in their respective regions. Faster testing will also help efficiently track viral spread, it said.
