COVID-19: India logs 3,303 new cases; 39 more deaths
What's the story
India on Thursday reported over 3,000 new COVID-19 cases, an increase of over 300 cases from the previous day.
The country's active caseload currently stands at 16,980, which accounts for 0.04% of the total cases so far.
In the past 24 hours, a total of 3,303 new cases and 39 COVID-19-related fatalities were recorded.
Meanwhile, the country's COVID-19 recovery rate stood at 98.74%.
Context
Why does this story matter?
India on Thursday reported higher COVID-19 cases than the day before.
Meanwhile, the active caseload and daily positivity rates also recorded an increase on Thursday.
Delhi added the most cases among all states/union territories.
This comes after India witnessed a sharp decline in cases since January end.
Notably, the third wave of coronavirus infections peaked in India on January 21, 2022.
Statistics
Over 2,500 patients discharged
According to data shared by the Union Health Ministry, India reported a total of 4,30,68,799 COVID-19 cases until Thursday morning, while the cumulative death count reached 5,23,693.
With 2,563 fresh discharges, the number of total recoveries in the country climbed to 4,25,28,126.
On the other hand, the daily and weekly positivity rates were recorded at 0.66% and 0.61%, respectively.
States
Delhi adds most new cases
Maharashtra—one of the worst-hit states so far—reported 186 new cases and 174 more recoveries on Wednesday.
Karnataka added 126 new cases and 99 recoveries, while Tamil Nadu witnessed 77 new cases and 34 discharges.
On the other hand, Delhi reported 1,367 new cases and 1,042 discharges.
Meanwhile, Kerala reportedly recorded 347 new COVID-19 cases and 300 recoveries on Wednesday.
Trend
India's third wave peaked in January
Notably, India witnessed a massive spurt in coronavirus cases in December-end and at the beginning of January—dubbed India's third wave—due to the highly contagious Omicron variant.
The third wave peaked on January 21, 2022, when 3.47 lakh single-day cases were 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.
Vaccination
Over 188 crore vaccine doses administered
As of Thursday morning, India has administered over 188.3 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses.
Overall, over 85.5 crore people have been fully vaccinated, while more than 100 crore people have received one dose.
On Thursday alone, India administered over 13.35 lakh COVID-19 vaccine doses till 1:30 pm, including nearly 9 lakh second doses and over 2.7 lakh first doses, according to Co-WIN.
Data
2.62 crore 'precautionary' doses administered
Moreover, India has administered over 2.62 crore "precautionary" doses since January 10. On Thursday, almost 80,000 people in the age group of 18-59 years and nearly 90,000 people aged above 60 years were given the precautionary dose till 1:30 pm.
Recent news
Very few recombinant COVID-19 variants found in India: INSACOG
India's genomics consortium INSACOG on Wednesday said very few recombinant variants of the coronavirus have been found in India.
"Based on genome sequencing analysis...So far, none (of variants) showed either increased transmission (locally or otherwise) or was associated with severe disease or hospitalization," INSACOG said.
It also added that it is closely monitoring suspected incidences of recombinants and their possible relevance to public health.