COVID-19: India reports 1,233 new cases, 31 more fatalities
India on Wednesday reported over 1,200 new COVID-19 cases, slightly lower than the previous day. The active caseload in the country currently stands at 14,704, which accounts for 0.03% of the total cases so far. In the past 24 hours, a total of 1,233 new cases and 31 fatalities were reported. Meanwhile, India's COVID-19 recovery rate has increased to 98.75%.
Why does this story matter?
India on Wednesday 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.
1,876 patients discharged
According to data shared by the Union Health Ministry, India reported a total of 4,30,23,215 COVID-19 cases till Wednesday morning, while the cumulative death count reached 5,21,101. With 1,876 fresh discharges, the number of total recoveries in the country climbed to 4,24,87,410. On the other hand, the daily and the weekly positivity rates were recorded at 0.20% and 0.25%, respectively.
Kerala adds most new cases
Kerala saw 424 new cases and 528 discharges in the last 24 hours. Maharashtra reported 103 new COVID-19 cases along with 107 more recoveries and zero deaths during the period. Karnataka added 42 fresh cases along with 104 recoveries. Tamil Nadu witnessed 37 new cases and 64 discharges. Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh reported 5 new cases and 37 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 Wednesday morning, India has administered over 183.7 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses. Overall, over 82.9 crore people have been fully vaccinated, while more than 98.6 crore people have received one dose. On Wednesday alone, India administered over 1.2 lakh COVID-19 vaccine doses till 10:45 am, including over 58,000 second doses and over 50,000 first doses, according to Co-WIN.
2.15 crore 'precautionary' doses administered
Moreover, India has administered over 2.15 crore "precautionary" doses since January 10. On Wednesday, nearly 3,800 healthcare/frontline workers and more than 13,700 elderly people were given the precautionary dose till 10:45 am.
India has one of lowest COVID-19 deaths per million: Centre
The Centre on Tuesday said that at 374, India has one of the "lowest" COVID-19 deaths per million population, according to the World Health Organisation, compared to similarly affected countries like the USA, Brazil, Russia, and Mexico. In a written reply in Rajya Sabha, junior health minister Bharati Pravin Pawar also rejected reports that speculated actual deaths are higher than the official figure.
