India reports 3,611 new covid cases in a day

New Delhi: India on Friday reported a marginal dip in fresh covid-19 cases with 3,611 new infections detected in the last 24 hours, the union health ministry data stated. Active cases also declined to 33,232. While the daily positivity rate stood at 2.07%, the weekly positivity rate remained at 2.88%.

In the last three years of the pandemic, India has reported more than 44.9 million cases and 5,31,642 covid related deaths.

Covid cases are declining gradually across the country with Karnataka reporting 836 active cases, Kerala 7872 active cases, Maharashtra 2475 active cases, Gujarat 750 cases, Delhi 1653 cases, Tamil Nadu 1870 active cases, Haryana 1945 cases, Chhattisgarh 1445 cases, Rajasthan 1797 cases, Uttar Pradesh 1889 cases and West Bengal 2296.

Health experts said hospitalizations are mostly happening in cases where individuals are elderly and have comorbid conditions.

Scientists have said that the XBB.1.16 variant of coronavirus is responsible for the current cases. But the infection is supposed to be milder in nature and may not lead to a rise in hospitalisation rate as Indians have likely developed hybrid immunity due to vaccination and natural exposure to the disease. The Centre, however, has urged people to wear masks in crowded places and complete their vaccination doses.

The health ministry has directed states and union territories to follow a risk assessment-based approach to prevent and contain the infection. The ministry has advised state governments to examine the covid-19 situation at micro level (district and sub-districts) and maintain focus on implementation of necessary measures for prompt and effective management of covid-19 duly ensuring effective compliance.

Around 4.43 crore people recovered from the infection with 6,587 patients recovering in the last 24 hours. The current recovery rate touched 98.74%.

About 1,73,263 tests were conducted in a day, taking the total number of tests to 92.74 crore.

Under the covid vaccination drive, more than 220.66 crore vaccine doses have been administered to people across the country so far. In the last 24 hours, around 1,930 vaccine doses were administered.