Health minister chairs high-level meeting as COVID-19 cases cross 6,000-mark
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya chaired a high-level review meeting with states and union territories on Friday, as the country continued to see an increase in COVID-19 cases. During the meeting, Mandaviya stressed the importance of COVID-19 testing and genome sequencing. In the last 24 hours, 6,050 new COVID-19 cases were detected across the country, representing a 13% increase from the previous day.
Why does this story matter?
The number of coronavirus cases in India has gradually risen over the last few weeks. According to specialists, XBB1.16, the Omicron variant subtype, is to blame for the 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 as well.
14 deaths reported in last 24 hours
As many as 14 deaths were recorded in the last 24 hours, as per the Health Ministry's data, while the daily positivity rate stood at 3.39%. The weekly positivity rate stood at 3.02%. A total of 1,78,533 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours while 2,334 doses of vaccine were administered in the same period, as per the Health Ministry.
Kerala has highest number of active cases at 9,422
Currently, the number of active cases in the country stands at 28,303, while Kerala tops the list with 9,422 cases. Delhi reported 265 new cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of active cases to 2,060. Maharashtra currently has 3,987 active cases.
