Coronavirus: India reports 32K new cases; over 280 more dead
India on Thursday reported nearly 32,000 new COVID-19 cases, out of which, over 60% were concentrated in Kerala alone. The pace of the outbreak has slowed and active cases have now dipped to 0.90%; the lowest since March 2020. The daily positivity rate—which has been under 3% for the past 24 days—stood at 2.09%, while the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 2.11%.
India's tally crosses 3.35 crore; 4.46 lakh dead
According to the Union Health Ministry, till Thursday morning, India reported a total of 3,35,63,421 COVID-19 cases. The death toll has reached 4,46,050. So far, 3,28,15,731 patients have recovered, while 3,01,604 cases involve active infections. In the past 24 hours alone, India recorded 31,923 new infections, 31,990 more discharges, and 282 fresh fatalities. 83,39,90,049 vaccine doses have been administered so far.
India's second wave peaked on May 7
To recall, India's second wave peaked on May 7, 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 have declined since the second wave peaked, India crossed the 3 crore-mark on June 23. India had crossed the 1 crore-mark on December 19, and the 2 crore-mark on May 4.
Over 61% new cases concentrated in Kerala
Maharashtra reported 3,608 new COVID-19 cases along with 4,285 more recoveries. Kerala, the second worst-hit state after Maharashtra, reported 19,675 new cases and 19,702 discharges. Meanwhile, the third worst-hit Karnataka added 847 new cases and 946 recoveries. Tamil Nadu, the fourth worst-hit state, reported 1,682 new cases and 1,627 recoveries. Andhra Pradesh reported 1,365 new cases and 1,466 recoveries.
Rs. 50,000 compensation for COVID-19 victims
Separately, state governments will provide compensation of Rs. 50,000 to the families of COVID-19 victims, the Centre informed the Supreme Court. The compensation would be offered to both future fatalities and deaths that have already taken place. A plea had demanded a compensation of Rs. 4 lakh, however, the Centre argued that offering such compensation would exhaust the country's strained financial resources.
Delta becomes globally-dominant strain: WHO
On another note, the World Health Organization's (WHO) technical lead on COVID-19, Maria Van Kerkhove, said on Wednesday that the Delta variant of the coronavirus is now the globally dominant strain. The variant has been detected in at least 185 countries. "Less than one percent each of Alpha, Beta, and Gamma are currently circulating. It's really predominantly Delta around the world," Kerkhove said.
