COVID-19: India reports 1,259 new cases, 35 more fatalities
India on Tuesday reported over 1,200 new COVID-19 cases, slightly lower than the previous day. The active caseload in the country currently stands at 15,378, which accounts for 0.04% of the total cases so far. In the past 24 hours, a total of 1,259 new cases and 35 fatalities were reported. Meanwhile, India's COVID-19 recovery rate has increased to 98.75%.
Why does this story matter?
India on Tuesday recorded a slight decline in COVID-19 cases than the day before. Notably, India's active caseload and positivity rates have been witnessing a steady decline over the past few weeks. This comes after 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.
1,705 patients discharged
According to data shared by the Union Health Ministry, India reported a total of 4,30,21,982 COVID-19 cases till Tuesday morning, while the cumulative death count reached 5,21,070. With 1,705 fresh discharges, the number of total recoveries in the country climbed to 4,24,85,534. On the other hand, the daily and the weekly positivity rates were recorded at 0.22% and 0.25%, respectively.
Kerala adds most new cases
Kerala saw 346 new cases and 471 discharges in the last 24 hours. Maharashtra reported 110 new COVID-19 cases along with 72 more recoveries and zero deaths during the period. Karnataka added 48 fresh cases along with 105 recoveries. Tamil Nadu witnessed 33 new cases and 61 discharges. Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh reported 29 new cases and 50 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.
Over 183 crore vaccine doses administered
As of Tuesday morning, India has administered over 183.4 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses. Overall, over 82.8 crore people have been fully vaccinated, while more than 98.4 crore people have received one dose. On Tuesday alone, India administered over one lakh COVID-19 vaccine doses till 10:00 am, including over 44,000 second doses and more than 47,000 first doses, according to Co-WIN.
2.14 crore 'precautionary' doses administered
Moreover, India has administered over 2.14 crore "precautionary" doses since January 10. On Tuesday, over 2,600 healthcare/frontline workers and more than 9,600 elderly people were given the precautionary dose till 10 am.
US eases COVID-19 travel advisory for India
The United States' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday eased its COVID-19 travel advisories for India from Level 3 (high risk) to Level 1 (low risk). Meanwhile, the US State Department on Monday lowered its travel advisory for India to "Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution," reflecting the lower COVID-19 risk, but also cited the risk of "crime and terrorism."
