8,822 cases on Wed; Delhi sees positivity rate soaring to 7%
After witnessing a mild dip in daily cases a day ago, India on Wednesday saw a new three-month high in the daily Covid tally with 8,822 new cases in the last 24 hours, taking the overall count to 4,32,45,517. Delhi and Maharashtra are recording a spike in cases over the last few days. Delhi’s daily tally case count reached 1,375 on Wednesday with positivity rate rising to 7.01 per cent.
Maharashtra, which has reported a few cases of sub lineage of Omicron, BA4 and BA5, is witnessing rising new infections with 4,024 new cases, 3,028 recoveries and 2 deaths in the last 24 hours.
According to the Union Health Ministry data, a total of 15 deaths have been reported since Tuesday, with the total fatalities due to the virus at 5,24,792.
With 8,822 fresh coronavirus infections being reported in a day, India’s tally of Covid-19 cases rose to 4,32,45,517 on Wednesday, while the count of active cases increased to 53,637, according to Union Health Ministry data.
The count of active cases now comprises 0.12 per cent of the total infections, while the national Covid-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.66 per cent, the Ministry said. An increase of 3,089 cases has been recorded in the active Covid-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours, the data showed.
The daily positivity rate was recorded at two per cent and the weekly positivity rate at 2.35 per cent, according to the ministry. Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope on Wednesday said the surge in Covid-19 cases in the State is restricted to certain districts, and despite the spike, hospitalisations remain at 2-3 per cent.
Tope said no new variant is detected except Omicron.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has surged to 4,26,67,088, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.21 per cent, as per the data.
According to the ministry, 195.5 crore vaccine doses have been administered in the country so far under the nationwide Covid-19 vaccination drive.
India’s Covid-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5, 50 lakh on September 16, 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and the one-crore mark on December 19, 2020.
The country crossed the grim milestones of two crore cases on May 4, 2021 and three crore on June 23.
Fifteen new fatalities due to the disease were reported in the country — seven from Kerala, four from Maharashtra, two from Delhi and one each from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
A total of 5,24,792 Covid-19 deaths have been reported so far in the country, including 1,47,875 from Maharashtra, 69,842 from Kerala, 40,108 from Karnataka, 38,025 from Tamil Nadu, 26,223 from Delhi, 23,525 from Uttar Pradesh and 21,206 from West Bengal.
The Ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to co-morbidities.
On the Covid-19 jab front, India’s vaccine coverage has reached 195.5 crore doses. Over 3.53 crore first doses and over 1.99 crore second doses have been administered for the age group of 12 to 14. Over 5.99 crore first doses and more than 4.72 crore second doses have been given to the 15 to 18 age group. Meanwhile, over 3.61 crore precaution doses (booster shots) have been given to people above 60 years of age, healthcare workers, and frontline workers.