New Delhi: In the last 24 hours, India reported 67,208 COVID infections and 2,330 deaths, Health Ministry said on Thursday. The country has so far reported a total of 29700313 cases and 3,81,903 deaths as it emerges out of the second wave of the pandemic.
India’s daily test positivity rate – positive cases identified for every 100 tests – continues to decline. It stood at 3.48 per cent – below 5 per cent for the 10th straight day.
Maharashtra leads the states with the highest number of infections. It is followed by Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
Kerala added 13,270 cases to the country’s daily numbers – the most by any state. It is followed by Tamil Nadu (10,448), Maharashtra (10,107), Karnataka (7,345).
At present, there are 20 states and union territories where the Covid active caseload is less than 5,000 and a drastic reduction is being noted in almost all states.
Luv Agarwal, secretary in the Health Ministry, has said that almost 85 per cent decline in daily new cases has been noted since the highest reported peak on May 7 and the number of districts reporting more than 100 daily cases have reduced from 531 as recorded in the week ending May 4 to 165 in the week ending June 13.
Amid debate over the required gap between the two doses of Covishield vaccine, Covid Working Group chief Dr NK Arora has said that according to research in India, a single shot had up to 61 per cent effectiveness against the Delta strain, which has a higher transmissibility and disease severity.
Delhi on Wednesday received over 2.3 lakh doses of Covid vaccines, a day when several vaccination centres were expected to shut down due to a shortage. The fresh supplies are meant for those in the 18+ age group.
The age group 11-20 years accounted for 8.03 per cent in the first wave and 8.57 per cent in the second wave, the government has said, adding there appears to be no substantial evidence to indicate that children will be severely affected in the next wave of infections.
As many as 730 doctors died during the second wave of the Covid pandemic, said the Indian Medical Association (IMA) on Wednesday, adding that the maximum fatalities have been reported in Bihar.
A large number of pregnant women and those who recently delivered their baby have died in the second wave of Covid, a study by the Indian Council of Medical Research has revealed. The scientists said the study underscored the importance of vaccination for both pregnant and lactating women.
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