India has reported a huge downfall in daily Covid-19 cases as the country logged 10,112 fresh coronavirus infections in the past 24 hours, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Sunday.
The health ministry data shows that a total of 4,42,92,854 persons have been recovered from the coronavirus infection, while 5,31,329 people have recovered from Covid-19 since the pandemic began in India.
With the fresh cases, India’s COVID-19 tally stands at 4.48 crore (4,48,91,989). The death toll climbed to 5,31,329 with 29 fatalities, including seven reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am stated.
The daily positivity rate was recorded at 7.03 per cent and the weekly positivity rate at 5.43 per cent.
At 67,806, the active cases now comprise 0.15 per cent of the total infections. The national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.66 per cent, according to the health ministry website.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,42,92,854, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.18 per cent.
Meanwhile, Delhi on Saturday logged 1,515 COVID-19 infections and six fatalities with a case positivity rate of 26.46, according to data shared by the health department here.
With the new fatalities, the death toll from the pandemic rose to 26,595 in the national capital, while the case tally is 20,32,424.
Covid was the primary cause of death in one of the six fatalities on Saturday, the department said.
Out of 7,974 Covid beds in the city, 385 are occupied, the data showed.
The department did not issue a bulletin on Friday.
The city saw three fatalities and 1,603 COVID-19 cases on Thursday with a positivity rate of 26.75.
On Wednesday, Delhi reported six deaths along with 1,757 new cases of the disease with a positivity rate of 28.63.
The national capital had recorded 1,537 COVID-19 cases on Tuesday with a positivity rate of 26.54.
On Monday, Delhi recorded 1,017 Covid cases with a positivity rate of 32.25, the highest in more than 15 months.
The national capital had recorded a Covid positivity rate of 30.6 on January 14 last year
With the uptick in the trend of Covid cases, scientists said that XBB.1.16 is the Covid-19 variant responsible for the present surge in Covid cases. However, scientists say that people in India have developed hybrid immunity (due to vaccination and natural infection).
Therefore, the present Covid-19 variants will not cause a lot of hospitalization and severity as it is mild in nature. However, the government has suggested people wear masks in crowded places and complete their vaccination doses if not done yet.
Meanwhile, the union health ministry directed the state and union territory governments to follow a risk assessment-based approach to prevent and contain the infection.
The health ministry advised the state governments to examine the situation of Covid-19 at a micro level (district and sub-districts) and maintain focus on the implementation of necessary measures for prompt and effective management of Covid-19 duly ensuring effective compliance.
The government has asked the states to follow the strategy of testing, tracking, treating, and vaccinating.
Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan has also written to eight states, witnessing rising numbers of covid-19 cases, to boost surveillance measures and improve hospital infrastructure.
In a letter to Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka, and Haryana, Bhushan emphasized that the pandemic was far from over and that controlling the spread of infection was crucial.
The health secretary instructed the states to closely monitor Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) and Influenza-like Illness (ILI) trends, increase testing, submit more samples for genome sequencing, and promote precautionary doses. (With inputs from PTI)
