India records nearly 4,000 new COVID-19 cases—highest in 6 months
What's the story
India recorded nearly 4,000 new daily COVID-19 cases on Saturday—the highest single-day rise in 184 days—the Union Health Ministry revealed on Sunday. The country saw a rise of 829 cases (or 28%) from the previous day, leading to fresh concerns among people. Active cases went up to 18,389, and the death toll rose to 5,30,881, with five fatalities registered in the last 24 hours.
Context
Why does this story matter?
The number of coronavirus cases in India has gradually risen over the last few weeks. According to specialists, XBB 1.16, the Omicron variant subtype, is to blame for the current spike in COVID-19 cases. The surge in coronavirus infections coincides with an increase in H3N2 influenza cases across the country, prompting the Health Ministry to issue an advisory to states and union territories earlier.
Details
India's active COVID-19 cases rose to 18,389
With 3,824 new cases added on Saturday, India's total number of COVID-19 cases has reached 4,47,22,605. India's active COVID-19 caseload now stands at 18,389, representing 0.04% of total infections, with a fatality rate of 1.19%. According to the Health Ministry data, the country's daily positivity rate is at 2.87%, while the weekly positivity rate stood at 2.24%.
Recoveries
1,784 fresh recoveries reported, recovery rate at 98.77%
Official data showed 1,784 people recovered from COVID-19 on Saturday, bringing the total recoveries to 4,41,73,335 and the national recovery rate to 98.77%. The death toll reached 5,30,881 with five fresh fatalities: one each in Delhi, Rajasthan, Kerala, and Haryana; the southern state also reconciled one death. Moreover, 92.18 crore COVID-19 tests have been conducted so far, including 1,33,153 in the past 24 hours.
Information
Pandemic scenario in different states
COVID-19 cases are reportedly increasing slowly across the country. Karnataka has 1,259 active cases, whereas Kerala has 4,953. There are 3,324 active cases in Maharashtra and 2,294 in Gujarat. There are 1,216 active cases in Delhi, 836 in Tamil Nadu, and 1196 in Himachal Pradesh.
Experts
Subvariant XBB 1.16 blamed for fresh COVID-19 spike
Meanwhile, the COVID-19 subvariant XBB 1.16 was blamed for the recent surge in cases by healthcare experts and the Health Ministry, too. The Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) previously disclosed that 76 samples of the XBB 1.16 subvariant were found in India. The country also has reported the most XBB 1.16 cases in the world so far, closely followed by the United States (US).
Latest
Officials urge people not to panic but stay alert
As the number of daily COVID-19 cases continues to rise, health authorities increased their vigil and notified states and union territories, too. However, they emphasized there was no need to panic and urged people to stay alert. On March 22, Prime Minister Narendra Modi presided over a high-level meeting to assess the country's COVID-19 situation and readiness to deal with a possible health crisis.