COVID-19: India reports over 2.3L cases; Omicron tally nears 9K
What's the story
India on Tuesday reported over 2.38 lakh new COVID-19 cases with an active caseload of 17.3 lakh. Active cases now account for 4.62% of the total cases. Meanwhile, India's Omicron tally reached 8,891 on Tuesday. Notably, this marks an 8.31% increase since Monday. Currently, India's recovery rate stands at 94.09%, while the daily positivity rate was recorded at 14.43%.
Context
Why does this story matter?
India on Tuesday reported fewer COVID-19 cases compared to the day before. Infections are also declining in states which had been witnessing a sudden spurt in cases lately. However, both the active caseload and positivity rate continue to increase at an alarming rate. The spike in infections—dubbed India's "third wave"—has been attributed to the highly contagious Omicron variant of coronavirus.
Statistics
1.5 lakh more patients discharged
According to the Union Health Ministry, India reported a total of 3,76,18,271 COVID-19 cases till Tuesday morning. The death toll reached 4,86,761. With 1,57,421 fresh discharges, the recoveries stand at 3,53,94,882. In the past 24 hours, 2,38,018 new cases and 310 fresh fatalities were reported. The weekly positivity rate was recorded at 14.92%.
Trend
India's second wave peaked on May 7
India's second wave peaked on May 7, 2021, when 4.14 lakh single-day cases were reported, over four times the number of cases reported during the first wave in mid-September 2020. Although infections have declined since the second wave peaked, India crossed the three-crore mark on June 23. India crossed the one-crore mark on December 19, 2020, and the two-crore mark on May 4, 2021.
States
Maharashtra adds most new cases
Maharashtra reported 31,111 new COVID-19 cases along with 29,092 more recoveries. Kerala, the second worst-hit state after Maharashtra, reported 22,946 new cases and 5,280 discharges. The third worst-hit Karnataka added 27,156 fresh cases and 7,827 recoveries. Tamil Nadu, the fourth worst-hit state, reported 23,443 new cases and 13,551 discharges. Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh reported 4,108 new cases and 696 recoveries.
Vaccination
Over 158 crore vaccine doses administered
Till 11 am on Tuesday, India administered over 158 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses. Overall, more than 66 crore people have been fully vaccinated, while over 91.4 crore people have received at least one dose. On Tuesday alone, India administered over 6.5 lakh COVID-19 vaccine doses till 11 am, including roughly 3.4 lakh second doses and over two lakh first doses, according to Co-WIN.
Information
Nearly 50L precautionary doses administered
Meanwhile, India has administered over 49.5 lakh "precautionary" doses since January 10. On Tuesday alone, over 47,000 healthcare/frontline workers and more than 65,000 elderly people were given the precautionary dose till 11 am.
Recent news
Avoid giving steroids to COVID-19 patients: Government
In its revised clinical guidelines for COVID-19 treatment, the central government asked doctors to avoid giving steroids to patients. Drugs like steroids can increase the risk of a secondary infection like invasive mucormycosis or "black fungus," it said. If a cough persists for more than two-three weeks, patients should be tested for tuberculosis and other conditions, it added.