COVID-19: India logs 1,778 new cases; 62 more deaths
India on Wednesday reported over 1,700 new COVID-19 cases, an increase of around 200 cases from the previous day. The active caseload in the country currently stands at 23,087, which accounts for 0.05% of the total cases. In the past 24 hours, a total of 1,778 new cases and 62 fatalities were reported. Meanwhile, India's COVID-19 recovery rate has increased to 98.75%.
Why does this story matter?
India on Wednesday recorded slightly higher COVID-19 cases than the day before. This comes as the country has been witnessing an improvement in the COVID-19 situation, indicated by declining active cases and weekly positivity rate. Notably, India witnessed a massive spurt in coronavirus infections in December-end and at the beginning of January. The spike in cases—dubbed India's third wave—was attributed to the Omicron variant.
Over 2,500 patients discharged
According to data shared by the Union Health Ministry, India reported a total of 4,30,12,749 COVID-19 cases till Wednesday morning, while the cumulative death count reached 5,16,605. With 2,542 fresh discharges, the number of total recoveries in the country climbed to 4,24,73,057. Meanwhile, the daily positivity rate and the weekly positivity rate were recorded at 0.26% and 0.36%, respectively.
Kerala adds most new cases
Kerala saw 702 new cases and 730 discharges in the last 24 hours. Maharashtra reported 156 new COVID-19 cases along with 269 more recoveries and zero deaths. Karnataka added 92 fresh cases and 143 recoveries. Tamil Nadu witnessed 48 new cases and 89 discharges. Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh reported 30 new coronavirus cases and 51 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.
181.8 crore vaccine doses administered
As of Wednesday, India has administered over 181.8 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses. Overall, over 82.2 crore people have been fully vaccinated, while more than 97.5 crore people have received one dose. On Wednesday alone, India administered over one Lakh COVID-19 vaccine doses till 10 am, including over 38,000 second doses and more than 61,000 first doses, according to Co-WIN.
Over 2 crore 'precautionary' doses administered
Meanwhile, India has administered over 2.07 crore "precautionary" doses since January 10. On Wednesday, over 2,100 healthcare/frontline workers and more than 9,000 elderly people were given the precautionary dose till 10 am.
Novavax gets EUA for kids aged 12-17 in India
Novavax Inc on Tuesday said its COVID-19 vaccine has got emergency-use authorization from the Drugs Controller General of India for children aged 12-17 years. Notably, Novavax is manufactured and marketed in India by the Serum Institute of India under the brand name Covovax. Last month, Novavax said its vaccine was 80% effective against COVID-19 in a late-stage trial testing among those aged 12-17 years.
