COVID-19: Cases dip in Mumbai, Delhi; West Bengal new hotspot
What's the story
Delhi and Mumbai reported a substantial drop in the daily cases of COVID-19, indicating plateauing of infections. On the other hand, West Bengal is now emerging as a COVID-19 hotspot. The nationwide tally has worsened, with infections climbing from approximately 1.8 lakh on Monday to over 2.7 lakh on Sunday, according to the Union Health Ministry.
Context
Why does this story matter?
Delhi and Mumbai are major cities that have been the worst-hit through every wave of COVID-19 in India. The ongoing third wave of COVID-19 in India has been attributed to the highly infectious Omicron variant of coronavirus. The variant has notably caused a global surge in infections, pushing them from 15 million on January 9 to 34 million on January 14.
Infections
India's COVID-19 curve chart
As of Saturday, Maharashtra was topping India's COVID-19 chart, with 42,462 new cases and 23 deaths. With 32,793 new infections and seven deaths in a single day, Karnataka surpassed Delhi to claim the second spot. Delhi reported 20,718 COVID-19 cases with 30 deaths. With daily cases reaching over 19,000 on Saturday, West Bengal has emerged as the next COVID-19 hotspot in India.
Guidelines
COVID-19 restrictions in India
Due to an increase in infections, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu have increased their existing COVID-19 restrictions until January 31. The ban on public demonstrations and roadshows in five poll-bound states (Manipur, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Goa, and Uttarakhand) has been extended by a week until January 22. Most states have imposed night curfews while allowing a 50% capacity for indoor events.
Vaccine
India rolls out third vaccine dose
India began administering the "precautionary" third COVID-19 vaccine dose from Monday. The third dose is available to healthcare/frontline workers and senior individuals with co-morbidities. As of Sunday noon, over 42 lakh precautionary doses were administered. At the time of administration of the precautionary dose, a doctor's certificate is not required. There must be a nine-month interval between the second and third doses.
Outbreak
COVID-19 cases across India
On Sunday, India added 2,71,202 new infections and 314 more deaths. The daily positivity rate stood at 16.28%. India's active cases have now risen to 15,50,377. The cumulative number of cases rose to 3,71,22,164. With 1,38,331 fresh discharges, the total number of cases that have recovered stood at 3,50,85,721. Further, 7,743 Omicron cases have been recorded across India.