Coronavirus: India records lowest single-day spike in 74 days
What's the story
India on Monday reported over 70,000 new COVID-19 cases, the lowest single-day spike in 74 days. Active cases in the country have fallen under the 10 lakh mark. However, single-day fatalities touched nearly 4,000 as Maharashtra continued to reconcile old figures. The state's death toll went up by 2,771, including 2,288 previous deaths and 483 deaths recorded over the day. Here are more details.
Statistics
India's tally reaches 2.95 crore; over 3.74 lakh dead
According to the Union Health Ministry, till Monday morning, India reported a total of 2,95,10,410 COVID-19 cases. The death toll has reached 3,74,305. So far, 2,81,62,947 patients have recovered, while 9,73,158 cases involve active infections. In the past 24 hours alone, India recorded 70,421 new infections, 1,19,501 more discharges, and 3,921 fresh fatalities. 25,48,49,301 vaccine doses have been administered so far.
Worst-hit
72% new cases concentrated in 5 states
Maharashtra reported 10,442 new COVID-19 cases along with 7,504 more recoveries. Karnataka, the second worst-hit state after Maharashtra, reported 7,810 new cases and 18,648 discharges. Meanwhile, the third worst-hit Kerala added 11,584 new cases and 17,856 recoveries. Tamil Nadu, the fourth worst-hit state, reported 14,016 new cases and 25,895 recoveries. Andhra Pradesh reported 6,770 new cases and 12,492 recoveries.
Delta variant
New variant after Delta raises worry
The highly infectious Delta variant of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which first surfaced in India, has been worrying experts as it spreads around the world. Now, the variant is feared to have mutated further into an even more infectious version called AY.1 or Delta+. This new variant can possibly resist the monoclonal antibodies cocktail, which is being prescribed as a cure for COVID-19.
Information
India recorded 6 cases of Delta+ till June 7
So far, 63 genomes of Delta (B.1.617.2) with the new mutation, K417N, have been identified on the global science initiative GISAID, according to Public Health England. As of June 7, India had reported six cases of Delta+.
AstraZeneca
Halt AstraZeneca vaccinations for 60+ population: EMA
Separately, amid fears of a rare blood clotting disorder, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) COVID-19 task force chief Marco Cavaleri recommended halting the AstraZeneca vaccine—sold as Covishield in India—to people aged over 60 years. Several regions have stopped administering the shot to people below a certain age (usually 50-65) as the rare instances of blood clots are more pronounced in the younger population.