COVID-19: India reports 3,962 fresh cases, 26 more fatalities
India on Saturday reported over 3,900 new COVID-19 cases, a decrease of around 80 cases from the previous day. The country's active caseload currently stands at 22,416, which accounts for 0.05% of the total cases recorded so far. In the past 24 hours, a total of 3,962 fresh cases and 26 more fatalities were recorded. Meanwhile, the country's recovery rate stood at 98.73%.
Why does this story matter?
India on Saturday reported fewer COVID-19 cases than the day before. However, the active caseload and weekly positivity rate recorded an increase on Saturday. Notably, India is currently witnessing a resurgence of COVID-19 cases, with some experts predicting the fourth wave in June. This comes after the country recorded a sharp decline in infections from January end to April beginning.
2,697 patients discharged
According to the data shared by the Union Health Ministry, India reported a total of 4,31,71,872 COVID-19 cases until Saturday morning, while the cumulative death count stands at 5,24,677. With 2,697 fresh discharges, the number of total recoveries in the country climbed to 4,26,25,454. On the other hand, the daily and weekly positivity rates were recorded at 0.89% and 0.77%, respectively.
Maharashtra adds most new cases
Maharashtra—one of the worst-hit states so far—recorded 1,134 new cases and 563 more recoveries. While Karnataka saw 259 new cases and 234 discharges, Tamil Nadu recorded 113 fresh infections and 68 recoveries. On the other hand, Delhi reported 345 new cases and 389 discharges. Meanwhile, Kerala has not updated its data for Friday till the time of writing this report.
India's third wave peaked in January
Notably, 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 193 crore vaccine doses administered
As of Saturday morning, India administered over 193.8 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses. Overall, over 89.19 crore people have been fully vaccinated, while more than 101.2 crore people have received at least one dose. On Saturday alone, India administered over 3.67 lakh COVID-19 vaccine doses till 11:30 am, including over two lakh second doses and more than 50,000 first doses, according to the Co-WIN app.
3.49 crore 'precautionary' doses administered
Meanwhile, India has administered over 3.49 crore "precautionary" doses since January 10. On Saturday, over 64,000 people in the age group of 18-59 years and over 48,000 people aged above 60 years were given the precautionary dose till 10:00 am.
Maharashtra makes wearing mask mandatory in public
Meanwhile, the Maharashtra government has made wearing masks mandatory in public places, except for open spaces. The decision was taken after the state reported a surge in COVID-19 cases. Notably, Maharashtra reported the highest number of daily COVID-19 cases on Friday. The state government has expressed concern over the rising number of infections in a letter to the district authorities.
