COVID-19: India logs 2,628 fresh cases, 18 more fatalities
What's the story
India on Thursday reported over 2,600 new COVID-19 cases, an increase of more than 500 cases from the previous day. The country's active caseload currently stands at 15,414, which accounts for 0.03% of the total cases recorded so far. In the past 24 hours, a total of 2,628 fresh cases and 18 more deaths were recorded. Meanwhile, the country's recovery rate stood at 98.75%.
Context
Why does this story matter?
India on Thursday reported more COVID-19 cases compared to the day before. The active caseload also witnessed a slight increase on Thursday. Notably, India is currently witnessing a resurgence of COVID-19 cases, with some experts predicting the fourth wave in June. This comes after the country recorded a sharp decline in infections from January-end to April-beginning.
Statistics
2,167 patients discharged
According to the data shared by the Union Health Ministry, India reported a total of 4,31,44,820 COVID-19 cases till Thursday morning, while the cumulative death count stands at 5,24,525. With 2,167 fresh discharges, the number of total recoveries in the country climbed to 4,26,04,881. On the other hand, the daily and weekly positivity rates were recorded at 0.58% and 0.51%, respectively.
States
Kerala adds most new cases
Maharashtra—one of the worst-hit states so far—recorded 470 new cases and 334 more recoveries on Wednesday. Karnataka added 208 new cases and 124 recoveries, while Tamil Nadu witnessed 56 new cases and 39 discharges. Delhi saw 424 new cases and 499 recoveries during the period. On the other hand, Kerala reported 747 new cases, the most in the country, along with 376 discharges.
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 its peak on May 7, 2021.
Vaccination
Over 192 crore vaccine doses administered
As of Thursday morning, India administered over 192.72 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses. Overall, over 88.46 crore people have been fully vaccinated, while more than 101.03 crore people have received at least one dose. On Thursday alone, India administered over 1.14 lakh COVID-19 vaccine doses till 11:00 am, including over 75,000 second doses and over 20,000 first doses, according to the Co-WIN app.
Data
Over 3.23 crore 'precautionary' doses administered
Meanwhile, India has administered over 3.23 crore "precautionary" doses since January 10. On Thursday, over 12,000 people in the age group of 18-59 years and over 13,000 people aged above 60 years were given the precautionary dose till 11:00 am.
Recent news
COVID-19 killed more men in 2020 in India: RGI data
According to the latest report by the Office of the Registrar General of India (RGI), the COVID-19 infection killed more men than women in India in 2020. It said the virus killed 1,14,217 men (9.8%) and 46,401 women (7.1%) of the total COVID-19 deaths in 2020. Notably, it led to 1,60,618 deaths, accounting for 8.9% of all medically certified fatalities in India in 2020.