COVID-19: India logs 2,897 fresh cases, 54 more fatalities
India on Wednesday reported over 2,800 new COVID-19 cases, an increase of over 600 cases from the previous day. The country's active caseload currently stands at 19,494, which accounts for 0.05% of the total cases recorded so far. In the past 24 hours, a total of 2,897 new cases and 54 COVID-19-related fatalities were recorded. Meanwhile, the country's recovery rate stood at 98.74%.
Why does this story matter?
India on Wednesday reported higher COVID-19 cases than the day before. Meanwhile, the daily positivity rate witnessed an increase on Wednesday. However, the active caseload recorded a marginal decline. India is currently experiencing a resurgence of COVID-19 cases, with some experts predicting that a fourth wave of COVID-19 is imminent. Notably, India recorded a sharp decline in infections from January end to April beginning.
2,986 patients discharged
According to data shared by the Union Health Ministry, India reported a total of 4,31,10,586 COVID-19 cases until Wednesday morning, while the cumulative death count at 5,24,157. With 2,986 fresh discharges, the number of total recoveries in the country climbed to 4,25,66,935. On the other hand, the daily and weekly positivity rates were recorded at 0.61% and 0.74%, respectively.
Delhi adds most new cases
Maharashtra—one of the worst-hit states so far—recorded 223 new cases and 161 more recoveries on Tuesday. Karnataka added 129 new cases and 128 recoveries, while Tamil Nadu witnessed 40 new cases and 53 discharges. On the other hand, Delhi reported 1,118 new cases and 1,015 discharges. Meanwhile, Kerala was yet to report its COVID-19 data for Tuesday till the time of filing 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 190 crore vaccine doses administered
As of Wednesday morning, India had administered over 190.6 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses. Overall, over 87.07 crore people have been fully vaccinated, while more than 100.6 crore people have received at least one dose. On Wednesday alone, India administered over 3.6 lakh COVID-19 vaccine doses till 12 pm, including nearly 2.5 lakh second doses and more than 63,000 first doses, according to Co-WIN.
2.87 crore 'precautionary' doses administered
Moreover, India has administered over 2.87 crore "precautionary" doses since January 10. On Monday, over 26,000 people in the age group of 18-59 years and nearly 27,000 people aged above 60 years were given the precautionary dose till 10 am.
COVAXIN maker gets Rs. 149 crore to develop 'variant-proof' vaccine
COVAXIN manufacturer Bharat Biotech International, the University of Sydney, and Switzerland-based ExcellGene SA will get Rs. 149 crore from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations to develop a "variant-proof" SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate. CEPI will fund the initiative under its USD 200 million program to advance the development of vaccines that provide broad protection against all variants of coronavirus.
