Tag: Omicron

By PTI

NEW DELHI: India saw a single-day rise of 12,608 new coronavirus infections taking the total tally of Covid-19 cases to 4,42,98,864, while the active cases declined to 1,01,343, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday.

The national death toll climbed to 5,27,206 with 72 fatalities, including 29 fatalities by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am stated.

The active cases comprised 0.23 per cent of the total infections, as the national Covid-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.58 per cent, the health ministry said.

A decline of 3,715 cases was recorded in the active Covid-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 3.48 per cent, and weekly at 4.20 per cent, according to the health ministry.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has surged to 4,36,70,315. The overall fatality rate to date stands at 1.19 per cent.

According to the ministry, 208.95 crore doses of Covid vaccine 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. It crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4, 2021, and four crore on January 25 this year.

The 43 new fatalities composed of eight from Delhi, six from Maharashtra, five from Haryana, four each from Punjab and West Bengal, three from Karnataka, two each from Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Odisha, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh and one each from Chandigarh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

NEW DELHI: India saw a single-day rise of 12,608 new coronavirus infections taking the total tally of Covid-19 cases to 4,42,98,864, while the active cases declined to 1,01,343, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday.

The national death toll climbed to 5,27,206 with 72 fatalities, including 29 fatalities by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am stated.

The active cases comprised 0.23 per cent of the total infections, as the national Covid-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.58 per cent, the health ministry said.

A decline of 3,715 cases was recorded in the active Covid-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 3.48 per cent, and weekly at 4.20 per cent, according to the health ministry.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has surged to 4,36,70,315. The overall fatality rate to date stands at 1.19 per cent.

According to the ministry, 208.95 crore doses of Covid vaccine 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. It crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4, 2021, and four crore on January 25 this year.

The 43 new fatalities composed of eight from Delhi, six from Maharashtra, five from Haryana, four each from Punjab and West Bengal, three from Karnataka, two each from Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Odisha, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh and one each from Chandigarh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

By PTI

NEW DELHI: With 19,406 new coronavirus infections being reported in a day, India’s tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 4,41,26,994, while active cases declined to 1,34,793, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Saturday.

The death toll has climbed to 5,26,649 with 49 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated.

The active cases comprise 0.31 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.50 per cent, the ministry said.

A decrease of 571 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

The daily positivity rate was recorded at 4.96 per cent and the weekly positivity rate was 4.63 per cent, it said.

The number of recoveries surged to 4,34,65,552, while the case fatality rate 1.19 per cent.

According to the ministry, 205.92 crore doses against Covid 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 and 50 lakh on September 16.

It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.

India crossed the grim milestone of two crore cases on May 4, three crore on June 23 last year and four crore on January 25 this year.

NEW DELHI: With 19,406 new coronavirus infections being reported in a day, India’s tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 4,41,26,994, while active cases declined to 1,34,793, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Saturday.

The death toll has climbed to 5,26,649 with 49 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated.

The active cases comprise 0.31 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.50 per cent, the ministry said.

A decrease of 571 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

The daily positivity rate was recorded at 4.96 per cent and the weekly positivity rate was 4.63 per cent, it said.

The number of recoveries surged to 4,34,65,552, while the case fatality rate 1.19 per cent.

According to the ministry, 205.92 crore doses against Covid 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 and 50 lakh on September 16.

It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.

India crossed the grim milestone of two crore cases on May 4, three crore on June 23 last year and four crore on January 25 this year.

By PTI

NEW DELHI: India’s COVID-19 case rally rose by 19,673 in a day to reach 4,40,19,811 while active cases reached 1,43,676, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Sunday.

The death toll has climbed to 5,26,357 with 39 more fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated.

Active caseload increased by 292 in a day and comprise 0.33 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was 98.48 per cent, the ministry said.

The number of people who have recuperated from the viral disease surged to 4,33,49,778 while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.20 per cent.

The daily positivity rate was 4.96 per cent and the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 4.88 per cent.

According to the Union Health Ministry, 204.25 crore doses of Covid vaccine have been administered in the country so far.

India’s COVID-19 case tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16.

It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.

India crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 last year, three crore on June 23 and four crore on January 25 this year.

The 39 new fatalities include seven in West Bengal, four in Maharashtra, three in Delhi, two each from Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh and one each in Assam, Goa, Karnataka, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura and Uttarakhand.

NEW DELHI: India’s COVID-19 case rally rose by 19,673 in a day to reach 4,40,19,811 while active cases reached 1,43,676, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Sunday.

The death toll has climbed to 5,26,357 with 39 more fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated.

Active caseload increased by 292 in a day and comprise 0.33 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was 98.48 per cent, the ministry said.

The number of people who have recuperated from the viral disease surged to 4,33,49,778 while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.20 per cent.

The daily positivity rate was 4.96 per cent and the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 4.88 per cent.

According to the Union Health Ministry, 204.25 crore doses of Covid vaccine have been administered in the country so far.

India’s COVID-19 case tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16.

It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.

India crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 last year, three crore on June 23 and four crore on January 25 this year.

The 39 new fatalities include seven in West Bengal, four in Maharashtra, three in Delhi, two each from Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh and one each in Assam, Goa, Karnataka, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura and Uttarakhand.

By PTI

NEW DELHI: India saw a single-day rise of 21,566 coronavirus cases, the highest in 152 days, taking its COVID-19 tally to 4,38,25,185, while the number of active cases in the country climbed to 1,48,881 on Thursday, the Union health ministry said.

The death toll due to the viral disease has gone up to 5,25,870 with 45 more fatalities, according to the ministry’s data updated at 8 am.

The active cases account for 0.34 per cent of the total caseload, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.46 per cent, the ministry said.

An increase of 3,227 cases was recorded in the active Covid caseload in a span of 24 hours.

The daily positivity rate was recorded at 4.25 per cent while the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 4.51 per cent, according to the ministry.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has gone up to 4,31,50,434 while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.2 per cent.

According to the ministry, 200.91 crore doses of Covid vaccines have so far been administered under the nationwide vaccination drive.

India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 2020, 40 lakh on September 5, 2020 and 50 lakh on September 16, 2020.

It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 2020, 70 lakh on October 11, 2020, 80 lakh on October 29, 2020, 90 lakh on November 20, 2020 and the one-crore mark on December 19, 2020.

The country crossed the grim milestone of two crore Covid cases on May 4 last year, the three-crore mark on June 23 last year and four crore cases on January 25 this year.

Of the 45 new fatalities, 17 were reported from Kerala, seven from Maharashtra, six from West Bengal, two each from Assam, Bihar, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand and one each from Goa, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Mizoram, Sikkim and Uttar Pradesh.

NEW DELHI: India saw a single-day rise of 21,566 coronavirus cases, the highest in 152 days, taking its COVID-19 tally to 4,38,25,185, while the number of active cases in the country climbed to 1,48,881 on Thursday, the Union health ministry said.

The death toll due to the viral disease has gone up to 5,25,870 with 45 more fatalities, according to the ministry’s data updated at 8 am.

The active cases account for 0.34 per cent of the total caseload, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.46 per cent, the ministry said.

An increase of 3,227 cases was recorded in the active Covid caseload in a span of 24 hours.

The daily positivity rate was recorded at 4.25 per cent while the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 4.51 per cent, according to the ministry.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has gone up to 4,31,50,434 while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.2 per cent.

According to the ministry, 200.91 crore doses of Covid vaccines have so far been administered under the nationwide vaccination drive.

India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 2020, 40 lakh on September 5, 2020 and 50 lakh on September 16, 2020.

It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 2020, 70 lakh on October 11, 2020, 80 lakh on October 29, 2020, 90 lakh on November 20, 2020 and the one-crore mark on December 19, 2020.

The country crossed the grim milestone of two crore Covid cases on May 4 last year, the three-crore mark on June 23 last year and four crore cases on January 25 this year.

Of the 45 new fatalities, 17 were reported from Kerala, seven from Maharashtra, six from West Bengal, two each from Assam, Bihar, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand and one each from Goa, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Mizoram, Sikkim and Uttar Pradesh.

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Omicron sub-variant, BA.2.75, which is driving the latest Covid-19 surge in India, is not severe or brought serious diseases and risk of death despite being more transmissible than BA.2 responsible for the second Covid wave in India.

Speaking to TNIE, Dr N K Arora, co-chair of the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG), said the cases are not being reported from any cluster or any one particular area, despite the transmission and efficiency of the virus being 20-30 per cent more as compared to BA.2.

“The new sub-variant has not led to any major increase or expansion of the case pool or risk of severe disease. These cases are all spread out. I would be worried if they were occurring in one or two districts. It is happening in a scattered manner. This means it is not something which is either spreading too fast or causing too many severe cases,” said Arora, head of the Covid-19 Working Group of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI).

An Israeli researcher first flagged the new sub-variant, and then the World Health Organisation (WHO) also said they were following BA.2.75 detected in India and other countries.

So far, around 70 BA.2.75 infections have been reported in the country from different states, including Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana and Uttar Pradesh.

When asked whether the surge in Covid cases in the country due to the new sub-variant could lead to a fourth wave, Arora said India is not entering the fourth phase of the pandemic.

“We are very much part of the third wave led by Omicron because any new wave has to be with a new variant of concern. What we are seeing are all off-springs of Omicron. There should not be any concern about this new sub-lineage,” he added.

“What is important is whether any of these new sub-lineages cause severe or serious diseases, which requires hospitalisation or requires ventilation or which is likely to lead to death,” he said, adding that deaths are being reported from those individuals who were already admitted for some other diseases, like cancer, heart, lung, liver and then they got infected with Covid.

India has been seeing a continuous Covid-19 surge since June.

Arora said that the reason is mainly that people have become complacent, attending substantial social gatherings, travelling, and also due to the increased transmission ability of the sub-variants.

“We are keeping a close watch through genomic and sewage surveillance to see if there is anything new which is of public health concern or could cause severe disease to an individual,” he added.

By PTI

NEW DELHI: India saw a single-day rise of 18,815 new coronavirus infections, taking the tally of COVID-19 cases to 4,35,85,554, while the active cases increased to 1,22,335, according to the Union health ministry data updated on Friday.

The death toll has climbed to 5,25,343 with 38 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.

The active cases comprise 0.28 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.51 per cent, the health ministry said.

An increase of 2,878 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

The daily positivity rate was recorded at 4.96 per cent while the weekly positivity rate was 4.09 per cent, according to the health ministry.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,29,37,876 while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.21 per cent.

According to the ministry, 198.51 crore doses of Covid vaccine have been administered in the country so far under the nationwide 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 and 50 lakh on September 16.

It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.

India crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4, three crore on June 23 last year and four crore on January 25 this year.

The 38 new fatalities include 16 from Kerala, eight from Maharashtra, two each from Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal and one each from Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Haryana, Meghalaya, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.

A total of 5,25,343 deaths have been reported so far in the country, including 1,47,964 from Maharashtra, 70,089 from Kerala, 40,122 from Karnataka, 38,028 from Tamil Nadu, 26,277 from Delhi, 23,545 from Uttar Pradesh and 21,233 from West Bengal.

The health ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.

“Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research,” the ministry said on its website, adding that the state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.

By PTI

NEW DELHI: The current rise in COVID-19 cases is not a harbinger of a “new wave” but an “expected fluctuation” during endemic prevalence, experts have said, emphasising that lack of mask-wearing and low intake of booster shots may be reasons behind the surge.

They also said the recent surge is due to increased travel, social gathering and economic activities resulting in a greater possibility of the transmission of the virus.

Seventeen districts in India, including seven from Kerala and five from Mizoram, are reporting a weekly COVID-19 positivity rate of more than 10 percent.

In 24 districts, including seven from Kerala and four each from Maharashtra and Mizoram, the weekly positivity is between 5 to 10 per cent, an official source said.

Noted virologist T Jacob John said the present increase in cases is not like a surge but a gradual increase that is not steady or uniformly distributed.

“A few states lead, others are not involved. In those states, the phenomenon is mainly a big city picture, not widely spreading. This pattern is not a harbinger of a new wave but expected fluctuations during endemic prevalence,” he said.

“A wave must have more numbers than the previous day consistently — that is not the case for us now,” he told PTI.

He said not wearing and not taking booster shots can be two main reasons for the surge.

“Who gave the orders that people need not wear masks any longer. Who advised that people should continue wearing masks in places where people assemble indoors? That one behaviour alone is sufficient to explain the gradual increase in cities,” John said.

The second obstacle, he said, is people not taking booster doses.

“The higher the booster dose coverage, the lower will the number of infections; lower the number of infections, lower the number of cases,” he said.

John, a former director of the ICMR’s Centre of Advanced Research in Virology, said less than five per cent of those who had a second dose had taken their boosters.

“Who is responsible for this low coverage? I understand people are not trusting the government regarding vaccine safety — and the government is not bothered either.”

”When the threat of epidemic is no longer urging people to opt for a complete immunisation schedule, people will not accept the risk of severe adverse reactions,” he said.

He refuted claims that new variants are responsible for the surge.

“Currently the popular feeling is that BA.5 and BA.4 are causing the increase. On the other hand, when viruses are encouraged to spread, the faster-spreading ones will show up,” he said.

Dr Chandrakant Lahariya, physician-epidemiologist and infectious disease specialist, said India’s situation is of hybrid immunity through natural infection (three national waves) and acquired immunity as nearly 88 per cent of the adult population has received two shots of COVID-19 vaccines.

“Then, Omicron is the predominant variant and even though two new sub-lineage of Omicron, BA.4 and BA.5 have been reported to be slightly more transmissible, those sub-lineage are barely present in India and not enough to fuel a major spike.”

“There is no evidence of the emergence of a new variant of concern. Putting all of these together, it is fair to conclude that the current localised surge is not a start of a new national wave,” he said.

To put the surge in context, he said there are two things to remember.

“One, neither an earlier SARS CoV2 infection nor the COVID-19 vaccination (at least not the ones which are being used in India) are known to prevent subsequent infection.”

“Second, now SARS CoV2 is present in all settings and is likely to stay around for long. Alongside, COVID-19 being an infectious disease, the rise and fall in the cases is going to be a routine process. What we are seeing in select Indian cities and states in terms of a spike in COVID-19 cases is on expected lines,” he told PTI.

A rise may be seen in additional cities and states in months to follow but with every rise “we should not jump to the conclusion that it is a fresh wave”, he said.

Giridhar R. Babu, who also heads Lifecourse Epidemiology at the Indian Institute of Public Health in Bengaluru, said there is a need to stop numbering waves, especially when the UK has seen three waves within six months.

“Waves result from myriad factors, including testing levels, case definition, etc. Instead, each outbreak should be promptly identified and controlled.”

“Given an uptick in new deaths attributed to COVID-19 observed in a few countries (in European Union, the US, Portugal, Taiwan, New Zealand, and England.), it is important to continually track data from epidemiological assessment and correlate with genomic sequencing,” he said.

He said the plausible reason behind the surge in cases is mostly due to the newer sub-lineages, as seen in the rest of the world.

“After a prolonged period of Delta dominance and subsequent omicron variant, BA.2 is overtaken by a combination of several sub-lineages (BA.4, BA.5, BA.2.12.1, etc.), it is very unlikely that this is not the same reason in India as well,” he said.

The proportion of persons covered with booster doses, especially among the vulnerable, and appropriate ventilation to ease crowds in congested spaces are key determinants of overall control of the wave, he stressed.