India records nearly 4,500 COVID-19 cases, 15 deaths
India recorded nearly 4,500 new daily COVID-19 cases on Tuesday—the highest single-day rise in 163 days—the Union Health Ministry revealed on Wednesday. The country saw a massive increase of 1,397 coronavirus cases (46%) from the previous day, raising new worries among citizens. Active cases went up to 23,091, and the death toll rose to 5,30,916 with 15 fatalities registered in the last 24 hours.
Why does this story matter?
The number of coronavirus cases in India has gradually risen over the last few weeks. According to specialists, XBB 1.16, the Omicron variant subtype, is to blame for the current spike in COVID-19 cases. The surge in coronavirus infections coincides with an increase in H3N2 influenza cases across the country, prompting the Health Ministry to issue an advisory to states and union territories earlier.
India's active COVID-19 cases rose to 23,091
With 4,435 new cases added on Tuesday, India's total number of COVID-19 cases has reached 4,47,33,719. India's active COVID-19 caseload now stands at 23,091, representing 0.05% of total infections and a fatality rate of 1.19%. According to the Health Ministry data, the country's daily positivity rate is at 3.38%, while the weekly positivity rate stood at 2.79%.
2,508 fresh recoveries reported, recovery rate at 98.76%
Data also showed 2,508 people recovered from COVID-19 on Tuesday, bringing the total to 4,41,79, 712 and the recovery rate to 98.76%. The death toll reached 5,30,916 with 15 fresh fatalities: four from Maharashtra; one each in Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Puducherry, and Rajasthan; four were reconciled by Kerala. Moreover, 92.21 crore COVID-19 tests have been conducted so far, including 1,31,086 on Tuesday.
How does pandemic situation play out in various states?
Statewise, Kerala has the highest active COVID-19 cases at 6,825. Karnataka has 1,411 active COVID-19 cases, whereas there are 3,792 active cases in Maharashtra and 2,220 in Gujarat. There are 1,710 active cases in Delhi, 1086 in Tamil Nadu, and 1,493 in Himachal Pradesh.
Experts blame subvariant XBB 1.16 for fresh COVID-19 spike
Meanwhile, healthcare specialists and the Health Ministry attributed the recent increase in cases to the Omicron subvariant XBB 1.16. Previously, the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) revealed that 76 cases of the XBB 1.16 subvariant were discovered in India. The country recorded the most XBB 1.16 instances in the world, closely followed by the United States (US).
Don't panic, prepared to deal with possible crisis: Centre
As the number of daily COVID-19 cases in several states continues to rise, both the Central and state governments have urged people to remain vigilant. However, they emphasized there was no need to panic. The Centre claimed to have prepared a strategy to deal with a possible health crisis following a high-level meeting headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month.
