COVID-19: India reports 2,323 fresh cases, 25 more deaths
India on Saturday reported over 2,300 new COVID-19 cases, a slight increase of around 70 cases from the previous day. The country's active caseload currently stands at 14,996, which accounts for 0.03% of the total cases recorded so far. In the past 24 hours, a total of 2,323 fresh cases and 25 more fatalities were recorded. Meanwhile, the country's recovery rate stood at 98.75%.
Why does this story matter?
India on Saturday reported higher COVID-19 cases than the day before. However, both the active caseload and positivity rates recorded a decline 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 India recorded a sharp decline in COVID-19 cases from January end to April beginning.
2,346 patients discharged
According to the data shared by the Union Health Ministry, India reported a total of 4,31,34,332 COVID-19 cases until Saturday morning, while the cumulative death count stands at 5,24,348. With 2,346 fresh discharges, the number of total recoveries in the country climbed to 4,25,94,801. On the other hand, the daily and weekly positivity rates were recorded at 0.47% and 0.51%, respectively.
Kerala adds most new cases
Maharashtra—one of the worst-hit states so far—recorded 311 new cases and 270 more recoveries on Friday. Karnataka added 95 new cases and 155 recoveries, while Tamil Nadu witnessed 37 new cases and 44 discharges. On the other hand, Delhi reported 530 new cases and 678 discharges. Meanwhile, Kerala, with 558 infections, reported the highest number of new cases in the country on Friday.
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 192 crore vaccine doses administered
As of Saturday afternoon, India had administered over 192 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses. Overall, over 88.02 crore people have been fully vaccinated, while more than 100.9 crore people have received at least one dose. On Saturday alone, India administered over 1.32 lakh COVID-19 vaccine doses till 10:00 am, including over 82,000 second doses and over 22,000 first doses, according to Co-WIN.
3.08 crore 'precautionary' doses administered
India has administered over 3.08 crore "precautionary" doses since January 10. On Saturday, over 17,000 people in the age group of 18-59 years and nearly 14,000 people aged above 60 years were given the precautionary dose till 10:00 am.
Centre expresses concern over slow pace of vaccination
Meanwhile, the Union Health Ministry has expressed concern over the slow pace of COVID-19 vaccination across states and union territories. It also urged states and UTs to significantly expedite the pace towards full vaccination coverage by saturating all eligible beneficiaries. The ministry advised them to plan for a two-month-long "Har Ghar Dastak 2.0" campaign in June-July with detailed district, block, and village level plans.
