COVID-19: India logs 8,822 new cases; 15 more deaths
India on Wednesday reported over 8,800 new COVID-19 cases, an increase of around 2,300 cases from the previous day. The country's active caseload currently stands at 53,637, which accounts for 0.12% of the total cases recorded so far. In the past 24 hours, a total of 8,822 fresh cases and 15 more fatalities were recorded. Meanwhile, the country's recovery rate stood at 98.66%.
Why does this story matter?
India on Wednesday reported higher COVID-19 cases than the day before. Meanwhile, both the active caseload and weekly positivity rate also recorded an increase on Wednesday. Among states, Maharashtra continues to add most new cases to the tally. India is currently witnessing a resurgence of COVID-19 cases. This comes after the country recorded a sharp decline in infections from January end to April beginning.
5,718 patients discharged
According to the data shared by the Union Health Ministry, India reported a total of 4,32,45,517 COVID-19 cases until Wednesday morning, while the cumulative death count stands at 5,24,792. With 5,718 fresh discharges, the number of total recoveries in the country climbed to 4,26,67,088. On the other hand, the daily and weekly positivity rates were recorded at 2% and 2.35%, respectively.
Maharashtra adds most new cases
Maharashtra—one of the worst-hit states so far—recorded 2,956 new cases and 2,165 more recoveries. While Karnataka saw 594 new cases and 400 discharges, Tamil Nadu recorded 332 fresh infections and 153 recoveries. On the other hand, Delhi reported 1,118 new cases and 500 discharges. Meanwhile, Kerala had not updated data till the time of writing this report.
India's third wave peaked in January
India witnessed a massive spurt in coronavirus cases in December-end and at the beginning of January—dubbed India's third wave—due to the highly contagious Omicron variant. The third wave peaked on January 21, 2022, when 3.47 lakh single-day cases were recorded. However, this was lower compared to the second wave, when 4.14 lakh single-day infections were recorded at its peak on May 7, 2021.
Over 195 crore vaccine doses administered
As of Wednesday morning, India administered over 195.4 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses. Overall, over 90.19 crore people have been fully vaccinated, while more than 101.39 crore people have received at least one dose. On Wednesday alone, India administered over 2.78 lakh COVID-19 vaccine doses till 11:30 am, including over 1.56 lakh second doses and more than 27,000 first doses, according to the Co-WIN app.
3.83 crore 'precautionary' doses administered
Further, India has administered over 3.83 crore "precautionary" doses since January 10. On Wednesday, over 48,000 people in the age group of 18-59 years and nearly 51,000 people aged above 60 years were given the precautionary dose till 11:30 am.
