COVID-19: India logs 2,685 fresh cases, 33 more deaths
India on Saturday reported over 2,600 new COVID-19 cases, a decline of around 25 cases from the previous day. The country's active caseload currently stands at 16,308, which accounts for 0.04% of the total cases recorded so far. In the past 24 hours, a total of 2,685 fresh cases and 33 more fatalities were recorded. Meanwhile, the country's recovery rate stood at 98.75%.
Why does this story matter?
India on Saturday reported fewer COVID-19 cases than the day before. However, both the active caseload and positivity rates witnessed an increase 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 the country recorded a sharp decline in infections from January end to April beginning.
2,158 patients discharged
According to the data shared by the Union Health Ministry, India reported a total of 4,31,48,500 COVID-19 cases until Saturday morning, while the cumulative death count stands at 5,24,572. With 2,158 fresh discharges, the number of total recoveries in the country climbed to 4,26,09,335. On the other hand, the daily and weekly positivity rates were recorded at 0.60% and 0.54%, respectively.
Maharashtra adds most new cases
Maharashtra—one of the worst-hit states so far—recorded 536 new cases and 329 more recoveries on Friday. While Karnataka saw 171 new cases and 121 discharges, Tamil Nadu recorded 55 fresh infections and 41 recoveries. On the other hand, Delhi reported 445 new cases and 479 discharges. Meanwhile, Kerala was yet to report its COVID-19 data for Friday 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 193 crore vaccine doses administered
As of Saturday morning, India administered over 193.03 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses. Overall, over 88.6 crore people have been fully vaccinated, while more than 101.08 crore people have received at least one dose. On Saturday alone, India administered over 1.8 lakh COVID-19 vaccine doses till 10:30 am, including over one lakh second doses and over 27,000 first doses, according to the Co-WIN app.
3.29 crore 'precautionary' doses administered
Meanwhile, India has administered over 3.29 crore "precautionary" doses since January 10. On Saturday, over 27,000 people in the age group of 18-59 years and more than 20,000 people aged above 60 years were given the precautionary dose till 10:30 am.
