India records over 300 COVID-19 cases after nearly 100 days
India reported over 300 new COVID-19 cases after 97 days, as per the data provided by the Union Health Ministry on Saturday. While the active cases went up to 2,686, the death toll rose to 5,30,775, with three latest fatalities in the last 24 hours, the data provided by the ministry stated.
Why does this story matter?
The new spike in cases comes just a few weeks after the Health Ministry cautioned Indians amid the recent spike in coronavirus cases in China after Beijing lifted its strict zero-COVID policy in December 2022. The increase is however significantly low when compared to the first and second-wave numbers when over 9,000 daily cases were reported in February 2021.
India reports single-day spike of 334 COVID-19 cases
According to the Health Ministry website, the country saw a single-day spike of 334 COVID-19 cases, accounting for 0.00% of India's total number of active cases. Meanwhile, the recovery rate of the novel virus currently stands at 98.80%. Furthermore, the data also revealed that India's infection tally currently stands at 4.46 crore (4,46,87,496).
220.63 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses administered so far in India
The total number of individuals who have successfully recuperated from the novel virus went up to 4,41,54,035, while the fatality rate was reported to be at 1.19% in the country. As per the official numbers, 220.63 crore doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered so far in India under the nationwide coronavirus vaccination drive.
WHO's new mask guidelines from January 2023
In January, the World Health Organisation (WHO) released new guidelines to combat the ongoing global pandemic. It updated its recommendations on masking, patient care, and treatment as coronavirus continues to spread worldwide. The new guidelines advised the wearing of mask in enclosed, crowded, or poorly ventilated spaces, when someone suspects or has COVID-19 and if someone is at high risk for coronavirus.
WHO updates its guidelines for COVID-19-positive patients
The WHO also advised patients with coronavirus symptoms and no test to isolate themselves for ten days from the onset of the symptoms. Earlier, the health body recommended 10-day isolation and an additional three days after COVID-19 symptoms were resolved. Meanwhile, the organization also said coronavirus patients could be discharged earlier than usual if they test negative.
Know if COVID-19 can increase autoimmune disease risk
As per a recent study, catching coronavirus might increase the risk of generating autoimmune diseases by almost 43% in the months following the infection. According to medRxiv, scientists analyzed reports of 640,000 individuals in Germany who caught the coronavirus in 2020 and 1.5 million individuals who didn't catch COVID-19 to understand how the virus could trigger the generation of autoimmune conditions.
15% of coronavirus-affected people developed autoimmune disease
The researchers found that over 15% of coronavirus-affected people developed an autoimmune disease during the follow-up period. Meanwhile, 11% of those who didn't catch COVID-19 also developed an autoimmune disease. "Covid cannot lead to any autoimmune disease directly, however, like many other viral illnesses, Covid can certainly harm in two ways as far as autoimmune disease is concerned," said Dr. Ravi Shekhar Jha.
