Punjab: 71 COVID-19 cases reported from Patiala's law university
With 71 fresh COVID-19 cases being reported at the Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law in Punjab's Patiala on Wednesday, the number of positive cases has risen to 86, prompting authorities to declare the campus a containment zone. The infected students were isolated in separate blocks. Additionally, the university authorities have also been asked to get hostels vacated by Tuesday (May 10).
Why does this story matter?
India is witnessing a surge in COVID-19 cases with 3,275 new cases being registered in the last 24 hours. Over 82% of the new infections were reported from five states—Delhi, Haryana, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra. The total case tally has increased to 4,30,91,393. As many as 55 deaths were also reported in the past 24 hours, taking up the total count to 5,23,975.
Farewell parties were organized without following safety protocols
Health officials, who were assessing the situation, warned that the number of cases is expected to rise as several farewell parties were organized on the campus without following the safety protocols. Officials have so far collected 550 samples for testing. District epidemiologist Dr. Sumeet Singh said the movement of people had been restricted on the campus, adding most positive cases were asymptomatic.
Schools, educational institutes turning into COVID-19 hotspots
Of late, schools and educational institutes have turned into COVID-19 hotspots. On Wednesday, Welham Girls' School in Uttarakhand's Dehradun was declared a micro-containment zone after 16 students tested positive. In April, several schools in Uttar Pradesh's Noida and Ghaziabad suspended physical classes briefly due to a surge in cases. IIT-Madras continues to remain a COVID-19 cluster with total positive cases standing at 182.
What is the status of India's COVID-19 vaccination efforts?
The cumulative COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in India have exceeded 189.63 crore as of Thursday morning. A total of 13,98,710 vaccine doses were administered in the past 24 hours, bringing the total tally of doses administered to 1,89,63,30,362. In the past 24 hours, a total of 4,23,430 samples were tested. India's current active caseload stands at 19,719.
India's third COVID-19 wave peaked in January
India witnessed a massive spike in COVID-19 cases in December-end and at the beginning of January—termed India's third wave—due to the highly contagious Omicron variant. The third wave peaked on January 21, 2022, with 3.47 lakh single-day cases being recorded. However, this was lower compared to the second wave, when 4.14 lakh single-day infections were recorded at a peak on May 7, 2021.
