COVID-19: India reports 13,216 new cases, 23 more deaths
India on Saturday reported over 13,000 new COVID-19 cases, an increase of around 500 cases from the previous day. The country's active caseload currently stands at 68,108, which accounts for 0.16% of the total cases recorded so far. In the past 24 hours, a total of 13,216 fresh cases and 23 more fatalities were recorded. Meanwhile, the country's recovery rate stood at 98.63%.
Why does this story matter?
- India on Saturday reported a higher number of COVID-19 cases than the day before.
- Meanwhile, the active caseload and positivity rates also recorded an increase on Saturday.
- Among states, Maharashtra continued to add most new cases to the tally.
- India is currently witnessing a resurgence of cases.
- This comes after the country recorded a sharp decline in infections from January end to April beginning.
8,148 patients discharged
According to the data shared by the Union Health Ministry, India reported a total of 43,283,793 COVID-19 cases until Saturday, while the cumulative death count stands at 5,24,840. With 8,148 fresh discharges, the number of total recoveries in the country climbed to 4,26,90,845. On the other hand, the daily and weekly positivity rates were recorded at 2.73% and 2.47%, respectively.
Maharashtra adds most new cases
Maharashtra—one of the worst-hit states so far—recorded 4,165 new cases and 3,047 more recoveries. While Karnataka saw 634 new cases and 503 discharges, Tamil Nadu recorded 589 fresh infections and 208 recoveries. On the other hand, Delhi reported 1,797 new cases and 901 discharges. Meanwhile, Kerala has not yet updated its data for Friday till the time of writing this report.
India's third wave peaked in January
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 its peak on May 7, 2021.
Nearly 196 crore vaccine doses administered
As of Saturday morning, India administered over 195.9 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses. Overall, over 90.48 crore people have been fully vaccinated, while over 101.45 crore people have received at least one dose. On Saturday alone, India administered over 2.8 lakh COVID-19 vaccine doses till 11:00 am, including over 1.6 lakh second doses and nearly 33,000 first doses, according to the Co-WIN app.
3.95 crore 'precautionary' doses administered
Further, India has administered over 3.95 crore "precautionary" doses since January 10. On Saturday, over 69,000 people in the age group of 18-59 years and nearly 41,000 people aged above 60 years were given the precautionary dose till 11:00 am.
