A health worker takes a swab sample from a woman for Covid testing in New Delhi, on Friday. (Express Photo by Praveen Khanna)Coronavirus News Highlights, April 2: India recorded a single-day jump of 3,824 Covid-19 infections, the biggest in 184 days, in the 24 hours ending 8 am on Sunday. With the sudden spike, the number of active cases in the country increased to 18,389, according to Union Health Ministry data. The death toll, meanwhile, climbed to 5,30,881 with five new fatalities. India’s Covid-19 tally currently stands at 4.47 crore (4,47,22,605).
As per the Health Ministry data, the active cases comprise 0.04 per cent of the total infections. While the daily positivity rate stands at 2.87 per cent, the weekly positivity rate is 2.24 per cent. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has surged to 4,41,73,335, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent.
On Saturday, Delhi recorded 416 fresh Covid cases, the highest in over seven months, with a positivity rate of 14.37 per cent, according to data shared by the city health department. One Covid-related death was also reported during the day, stated the department’s latest bulletin. It further mentioned that the death toll now stands at 26,529.
Maharashtra on Sunday reported 562 new COVID-19 cases, taking the overall infection tally to 81,45,342, while the death of three persons raised the fatality count to 1,48,444, a health official said.
The single-day infection tally dropped by 107 as compared to Saturday when the state had logged 669 cases. (PTI)
Delhi reported 429 Covid cases and one death in the last 24 hours. The positivity rate was just over 16 per cent.
The Brihanumumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), in an official bulletin, noted that Mumbai recorded a total of 172 new Covid-19 cases today. Meanwhile, the recovery rate of patients stood at 98.2 per cent.
Children born to mothers who contract COVID-19 during pregnancy may be more likely to develop obesity, according to a new study. Read here
With World Health Organisation (WHO) monitoring Omicron XBB.1.16 subvariant that has largely been documented in India, Dr Rajesh Karyakarte, Maharashtra coordinator for genome sequencing, said it was due to whole genome sequencing (WCG) of Covid positive samples that the infection could be detected at an early stage in the country. Read more here
Amid rising Covid-19 cases in Haryana and the daily positivity rate touching 4 per cent, state Home Minister Anil Vij has called a meeting of senior health department officials Monday to monitor infrastructure preparedness and discuss measures to curtail the spread of the infection.
The state Covid-19 bulletin released Saturday evening reported 579 positive cases of which 142 were detected from among 3,730 samples tested on the day. Gurgaon reported the highest cases at 358 followed by 85 cases in Faridabad. Almost all other districts have also started to detect positive cases of Covid-19. Know more here
As Delhi witnesses a sudden spurt in Covid cases, experts have stressed that there is no need to panic over the absolute numbers and the focus should be on protecting the vulnerable population, especially those who are immunocompromised or have comorbidities.
They have also advised people to remain cautious by masking up and avoiding public gatherings. (PTI)
The number of active Covid-19 cases stood at 18,389 as on April 2. According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, these cases comprised 0.04 of total infections.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with worsening mental health among teens, including increasing numbers of patients with eating disorders.
In fact, research indicates that the number of teens with eating disorders at least doubled during the pandemic.
This is particularly concerning given that eating disorders are among the most deadly of all mental health diagnoses, and teens with eating disorders are at higher risk for suicide than the general population. While experts don’t know exactly why eating disorders develop, studies show that body dissatisfaction and desire for weight loss are key contributors. Read here
The Covid patients admitted in Delhi hospitals are mostly the elderly or those with comorbid conditions, state health department officials have said.
According to an official from the state health department, a majority of patients are above 60 and have been suffering from issues like cardiac disease, kidney disease and diabetes etc. “These include patients admitted to hospital after getting infected with Covid and also those who were already admitted due to other health issues and later developed Covid,” he added.
Meanwhile, another official from Lok Nayak Hospital, the nodal hospital for Covid cases in Delhi, said that a total of 10 patients are admitted, including eight women and two men. “Only two of them are elderly and the rest are young patients from the gynaecology department who were also infected with Covid,” the official said. Read more
Though the number of active Covid-19 cases in Mumbai have surged 20-fold in the last one month, only one per cent of the patients required hospitalisation. At major private hospitals, beds meant for Covid-19 patients are mostly vacant, shows BMC data.
On March 1, Mumbai had 47 active cases, which rose to 937 on March 31. However, most of the patients were asymptomatic and did not require hospitalisation.
For instance, on March 30, when Mumbai reported 192 fresh cases – the highest this year – only 13 patients required hospitalisation. Similarly, on March 31, among the 177 patients, only 22 had to be hospitalised.
According to BMC, on March 31, of the 4,349 beds reserved for Covid-19 patients, only 57 were occupied, with a bed occupancy of 1.31 per cent. Among the 57, 41 patients were admitted in public hospitals and the remaining in private hospitals. Read more
Cases of Covid-19 are on the rise across several states in India, with the average cases reported daily increasing to 966 during the third week of March from 313 during the first week.
The national average positivity rate – proportion of samples tested that turn out to be positive – increased to 1.08% during the third week of March. States like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Delhi are among the highest contributors.
Dr Atul Gogia, Internal Medicine, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, talks about the symptoms that he is seeing in his clinics and how they compare to flu that is also in circulation. Read more
Amid rising cases of COVID-19 and the common flu (caused by the Influenza virus), experts stress the need to take precautionary measures that include social distancing, following proper hygiene protocols, and maintaining a distance from an infected person.
They also highlight the need to take vaccination to reduce the chances of getting infected with either of the conditions, which present with certain overlapping symptoms like fever, cough, shortness of breath, muscle pain or body ache, sore throat, and fatigue.
However, it must be noted that unlike in the flu, patients afflicted with COVID-19 may also experience loss of taste or smell. Read more
India recorded a single-day jump of 3,824 Covid-19 infections, the biggest in 184 days, in the 24 hours ending 8 am on Sunday, while the number of active cases increased to 18,389, according to Union health ministry data. With the fresh infections, India's Covid-19 tally rose to 4.47 crore (4,47,22,605). The death toll climbed to 5,30,881 with five deaths, the data updated at 8 am stated.
One death each was reported from Delhi, Haryana, Kerala and Rajasthan in a span of 24 hours and one was reconciled by Kerala. At 18,389, the active cases comprise 0.04 per cent of the total infections. The national Covid-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.77 per cent, according to the health ministry website.
The daily positivity rate stood at 2.87 per cent and the weekly positivity rate at 2.24 per cent. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,41,73,335, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent.
According to the ministry's website, 220.66 crore doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered so far under the nationwide vaccination drive. (PTI)
Urging people not to panic, the Nagaland government on Saturday said it was fully prepared if a fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic hits the state.
Addressing a press conference, state health commissioner and secretary Y Kikheto Sema said the state was fully prepared with better infrastructure and manpower to fight the emerging challenges. (PTI)
Delhi reported 416 Covid cases and one death in the last 24 hours. The positivity rate was just over 14 per cent.
The Tamil Nadu Health Ministry will carry out inspection in all government hospitals across the State for two days from April 10 to increase the facilities to meet the challenges of surge in COVID cases and other infections, Health Minister M Subramanian said on Saturday. (PTI)
Uttar Pradesh's Agra district has recorded a surge in COVID-19 cases after 10 people were tested positive till Saturday, a health official said.
Reports of two, including a 50-year-old woman and a 55-year-old man, came out positive in the last 24 hours. (PTI)
The Brihanumumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), in an official bulletin, noted that Mumbai recorded a total of 189 new Covid-19 cases today. Meanwhile, the recovery rate of patients stood at 98.2 per cent.
Sikkim reported three COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours taking the daily positivity rate to three per cent, a health department bulletin said on Saturday. (PTI)
In the last few weeks, the daily reported Covid-19 cases in the country have increased by 30-fold from a low base of fewer than 100 cases. Yet, there is enough epidemiological and scientific evidence to argue that it is not the beginning of a fresh wave of the disease. To start with, this is the first time since the start of the pandemic that no SARS-CoV2 variant of concern (VoC) is circulating in any part of the world. On March 16, the WHO’s Technical Advisory Group on SARS-CoV-2 Virus Evolution downgraded the Omicron to the same category as Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta variants of the earlier variants of concern. The Omicron was VoC for much of 2022 and early 2023 but not anymore. Read more here
Why children are less likely to become severely ill with COVID compared with adults is not clear. Some have suggested that it might be because children are less likely to have diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure, that are known to be linked to more severe COVID. Others have suggested that it could be because of a difference in ACE2 receptors in children – ACE2 receptors being the route through which the virus enters our cells.
Some scientists have also suggested that children may have a higher level of existing immunity to COVID compared with adults. In particular, this immunity is thought to come from memory T cells (immune cells that help your body remember invading germs and destroy them) generated by common colds – some of which are caused by coronaviruses.
We put this theory to the test in a recent study. Read here
Children born to mothers who contract COVID-19 during pregnancy may be more likely to develop obesity, according to a new study.
More than 100 million COVID-19 cases have been reported in the United States since 2019, and there is limited information on the long-term health effects of the infection.
Pregnant women make up 9 per cent of reproductive-aged women with COVID-19, which exposes millions of babies to maternal infection during foetal development over the next five years. Know more here
The Tamil Nadu government has made wearing of face masks mandatory at all government hospitals across the State from Saturday owing to an increase in Coronavirus positive cases.
Doctors, nurses, medical staff, patients and visitors have been asked to ensure cent percent compliance at around 11,300 health facilities because infection initially started in hospitals, Health Minister Ma Subramanian said on Friday. Know more here
The Covid patients admitted in Delhi hospitals are mostly the elderly or those with comorbid conditions, state health department officials have said.
According to an official from the state health department, a majority of patients are above 60 and have been suffering from issues like cardiac disease, kidney disease and diabetes etc. “These include patients admitted to hospital after getting infected with Covid and also those who were already admitted due to other health issues and later developed Covid,” he added. Read more
With World Health Organisation (WHO) monitoring Omicron XBB.1.16 subvariant that has largely been documented in India, Dr Rajesh Karyakarte, Maharashtra coordinator for genome sequencing, said it was due to whole genome sequencing (WCG) of Covid positive samples that the infection could be detected at an early stage in the country.
When cases were low, getting Covid positive samples was a challenge at laboratories like B J Medical College (BJMC), Pune, and Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Virology (NIV).
However, these institutions were engaged in WCG of the limited number of samples they got as a result of which teams from Maharashtra were able to alert both the state and the Centre on March 10 when the subvariant was identified for the first time in the country, Dr Karyakarte said. Read more
At a time when the city’s active caseload has surged 92 per cent in the last week, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is lagging in daily testing. On an average, the civic body is conducting a mere 1,200 tests daily. However, the Covid task force has also pointed to the hesitation among people regarding testing.
On Friday, Mumbai’s test positivity rate (TPR) — the number of positive cases of total tests conducted— went up 13.6 per cent with 177 new Covid cases reported. One of the main reasons for this could be low testing, as only 1,299 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours, as per BMC’s press release. Read more
The daily positivity rate was recorded at 2.09 per cent and the weekly positivity at 2.03 per cent.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,41,71,551. The case fatality rate stands at 1.19 per cent.
According to the ministry's website, 220.66 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered so far under the nationwide vaccination drive. (PTI)
India on Saturday recorded 2,994 new COVID-19 infections, while the number of active cases increased to 16,354, according to Union health ministry data.
With the fresh infections, India's COVID-19 tally stands at 4.47 crore (4,47,18,781). The death toll climbed to 5,30,876 with nine deaths.
Two deaths each were reported from Delhi, Karnataka and Punjab, one from Gujarat, and two were reconciled by Kerala.
At 16,354, the active cases comprise 0.04 per cent of the total infections. The national COVID-19 recovery rate stands at 98.77 per cent, according to the health ministry website. (PTI)
Himachal Pradesh logged 184 fresh Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, the Department of Health and Family Welfare said on Friday.
The State has 16 Covid testing facilities running and a total of 873 active cases of Covid-19, according to news agency ANI. About 108 COVID patients have recovered from the disease in the last 24 hours.
No new Covid death has been reported in the last 24 hours. The death toll remains constant at 4,196.
When Annie (name changed), a 28-year-old customer service representative and portrait painter, caught Covid-19 infection, she experienced symptoms such as high-grade fever, coughing fits that led to fainting due to lack of oxygen, tightness in the chest, shortness of breath, diarrhoea, and loss of smell and taste. However, three weeks after symptom onset, she felt well enough to start working from home before seeing her symptoms return four weeks later.
According to a study, published in the journal Cortex, she noticed disorientation and that “something was off with faces”. “These deficits caused her primary care provider to send her to seek care in an Emergency Department (ED). At the ED, a CT scan revealed no active bleeds in her brain, and she was discharged,” it added.
However, in June 2020, when spending time with her family for the first time since contracting Covid-19, Annie noticed that she was unable to recognise her father or visually distinguish him from her uncle. “My dad’s voice came out of a stranger’s face,” she told the researchers. Sharing that she is now relying heavily on people’s voices for identification purposes, Annie said that she was previously able to draw a face and only look at a reference photo every 15–30 min, she now depends on photographs while drawing. Read more
Why children are less likely to become severely ill with COVID compared with adults is not clear. Some have suggested that it might be because children are less likely to have diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure, that are known to be linked to more severe COVID. Others have suggested that it could be because of a difference in ACE2 receptors in children – ACE2 receptors being the route through which the virus enters our cells.
Some scientists have also suggested that children may have a higher level of existing immunity to COVID compared with adults. In particular, this immunity is thought to come from memory T cells (immune cells that help your body remember invading germs and destroy them) generated by common colds – some of which are caused by coronaviruses. Know more
In the last few weeks, the daily reported Covid-19 cases in the country have increased by 30-fold from a low base of fewer than 100 cases. Yet, there is enough epidemiological and scientific evidence to argue that it is not the beginning of a fresh wave of the disease. To start with, this is the first time since the start of the pandemic that no SARS-CoV2 variant of concern (VoC) is circulating in any part of the world. On March 16, the WHO’s Technical Advisory Group on SARS-CoV-2 Virus Evolution downgraded the Omicron to the same category as Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta variants of the earlier variants of concern. The Omicron was VoC for much of 2022 and early 2023 but not anymore.
Three years into the pandemic, SARS-CoV2 is now ubiquitous and will stay with humanity for long, possibly forever. Therefore, merely getting tested positive for SARS-CoV2 has limited relevance. Its virulence (ability to cause clinical disease) has been blunted. This is reflected in the fact that though the daily Covid-19 cases in India have increased from about 100 to 3,000, during the same period, hospitalisation and deaths have remained largely unchanged. Read the entire Opinion piece
Children born to mothers who contract COVID-19 during pregnancy may be more likely to develop obesity, according to a new study.
More than 100 million COVID-19 cases have been reported in the United States since 2019, and there is limited information on the long-term health effects of the infection. Pregnant women make up 9 per cent of reproductive-aged women with COVID-19, which exposes millions of babies to maternal infection during foetal development over the next five years.
“Our findings suggest that children exposed in utero to maternal COVID-19 have an altered growth pattern in early life that may increase their risk of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease over time,” said Lindsay T Fourman, MD, of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Mass. Read more
Amid rising cases of COVID-19 and the common flu (caused by the Influenza virus), experts stress the need to take precautionary measures that include social distancing, following proper hygiene protocols, and maintaining a distance from an infected person. They also highlight the need to take vaccination to reduce the chances of getting infected with either of the conditions, which present with certain overlapping symptoms like fever, cough, shortness of breath, muscle pain or body ache, sore throat, and fatigue. However, it must be noted that unlike in the flu, patients afflicted with COVID-19 may also experience loss of taste or smell.
Dr Dhiraj Bhattad, Consultant at the Internal Medicine department at Sir H. N. Reliance Foundation Hospital and Research Centre answers some of the common vaccine-related questions.
Should I be taking a vaccine for the common flu?
Yes. Normally, in India, we see the flu season between November till the end of February. At present, we are still seeing flu cases in the OPD, along with an increasing number of Covid cases. In such a scenario, I would definitely suggest everybody above the age of six months take a flu shot or influenza viral vaccine. Also, because the virus changes itself or mutates, we need to take these vaccines every year because it does not provide lifelong immunity from developing the flu.
Maharashtra on Friday recorded 425 new coronavirus cases, a drop of 269 cases from the day before, and zero deaths, the health department said in a bulletin.
The state's COVID-19 infection tally rose to 81,44,111, while death toll stood unchanged at 1,48,441. The number of active cases stand at 3,090. The number of active cases stand at 3,090. State capital Mumbai recorded 177 cases on Friday, followed by Pune city which recorded 50 new cases.
On Thursday, Maharashtra had recorded 694 infections and zero deaths. (PTI)
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya today said under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India not just take good care of itself during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic but also helped other countries.
The stellar role played by the country in battling with the pandemic under the leadership of PM Modi is being lauded internationally, Mandaviya said after virtually laying the foundation stones of four healthcare projects here worth nearly Rs 180 crore.
Citing an example of this, he said Bill Gates congratulated India when he led the Indian delegation to the World Economic Forum in Davos for the best Covid management and best vaccination drive. Lauding Modi's leadership for this, the minister said India did not just take good care of itself during the peak of the pandemic but also helped over 150 countries fight the crisis by providing them with vaccines. (PTI)
The Tamil Nadu government has made wearing of face masks mandatory at all government hospitals across the State from Saturday owing to an increase in Coronavirus positive cases.
Doctors, nurses, medical staff, patients and visitors have been asked to ensure cent percent compliance at around 11,300 health facilities because infection initially started in hospitals, Health Minister Ma Subramanian said on Friday.
"So, as a precaution we have made wearing face masks compulsory from April 1," Subramanian added. Read more
In the wake of a spike in influenza cases and rise in Covid-19 cases in the last two weeks in the country and the state, the Karnataka health department Monday in a circular said that the exercise of whole genome sequencing (WGS) for tracking of newer variants should be expedited to evoke timely response.
The circular issued by state health commissioner Randeep D stated that wearing masks on hospital premises by patients, health professionals and health workers should be ensured by the hospital authorities.
According to the health department, there are 812 active Covid patients in Karnataka, of which 440 are in Bengaluru. The weekly test positivity rate is 4.07 per cent. Read more
The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued revised recommendations for prioritising the use of COVID-19 vaccines to reflect the impact of Omicron and high population-level immunity due to infection and vaccination.
The announcement follows a meeting of the agency’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) between March 20 to 23 which also laid down a roadmap that considers the cost-effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination for those at lower risk — namely, healthy children and adolescents — compared to other health interventions. It also includes recommendations on additional booster doses and spacing of boosters. As per the revised guidance, three priority-use groups for COVID-19 vaccination are high, medium, and low. Read more
In March 2020, weeks before the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic, its director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus delivered a speech in which he emphasised the importance of testing: …the most effective way to prevent infections and save lives is breaking the chains of transmission. And to do that, you must test and isolate. We have a simple message for all countries: test, test, test.
The pandemic exposed critical shortcomings of existing diagnostic techniques. It revealed an urgent need for tests that are faster, simpler, cheaper and more scalable than existing methods, and just as accurate.
Three years on, the global face of diagnostics has changed. New techniques of disease diagnosis have been developed that can be applied to other emerging zoonotic pathogens such as “disease X” – a hypothetical infectious disease that has the potential to develop into a pandemic. Read more
It has been three years since the pandemic and as we still battle COVID-19, I have been witnessing Covid long haulers present themselves at my OPD with varying symptoms. Now this is something that needs to be addressed as a public health concern. Most experiencing long COVID, particularly women, have by and large had a severe manifestation of the disease, particularly after the Delta wave, or had co-morbidities. And all of it has to do with the immune dysregulation of the body, which means your body cannot control its immune response and can either underreact or overreact to foreign invaders. This explains their vulnerability to contracting other infections, suffering repeatedly and developing body conditions.
So what are the commonest symptoms of long Covid that I am seeing in my patients? Fatigue is a long-drawn side effect that many who had COVID first time round are still to get out of completely. Some of my patients had coughing bouts that lasted for almost two years as they were exposed to the slightest pollution or regular infections. They have been more susceptible to chest infections, palpitations, heart rate and breathlessness. The other severe manifestation has been in terms of anxiety, depression and panic attacks, with such patients saying they don’t feel like their original selves at all. Some of them continue to have insomnia, headaches, gastro-intestinal tract disturbances and loss of appetite. Read more
Cases of Covid-19 are on the rise across several states in India, with the average cases reported daily increasing to 966 during the third week of March from 313 during the first week. The national average positivity rate – proportion of samples tested that turn out to be positive – increased to 1.08% during the third week of March. States like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Delhi are among the highest contributors. Dr Atul Gogia, Internal Medicine, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, talks about the symptoms that he is seeing in his clinics and how they compare to flu that is also in circulation.
Has there been an increase in COVID-19 cases and what kind of symptoms are you seeing?
Yes, there has been an increase in cases of Covid-19 over the last couple of weeks. The number of cases is going up as we have ramped up testing again. Before that, we were mostly seeing cases of flu but not many among them were getting tested for COVID-19.
Most of the cases at present are not severe. They come in mostly with cough, runny nose and fever – all symptoms similar to flu. Very few people need hospitalisation and they are people who are very old or have severe co-morbidities like uncontrolled diabetes, chronic kidney disease, or obesity. Read what doctors have to say about the recent spike in Covid cases
Referring to the Covid situation in Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Friday said: "We request patients with Severe Acute Respiratory Infections (SARI) and Influenza-Like Illness (ILI) to mask up, though there has been no mandate from the Centre to this regard so far."
"Even if you are vaccinated, it (the current) manages to infect you. In Delhi, we are testing sewage samples to ascertain in advance if Covid is spreading fast. Till mid-February, we were picking samples from 7-8 places and were testing them. Covid is detected in sewage if it is spreading. Till that time, there was no presence in sewage samples. After that, it started showing in some samples. Now we are seeing more. There is no need to worry and severity is low. But we are prepared."
"7,986 beds are set aside for Covid, including oxygen, ICU and ventilator beds. Only 66 are occupied currently. We have the capacity to conduct 4,000 tests in labs in government labs. Private labs have the capacity to conduct 1 lakh tests. Our vaccination rate has been good so far, better than the national average. In the 18 category, all have been vaccinated. Among those below 18, most have received the first dose and around 85% have got the second dose. We have sufficient oxygen and storage capacity as well as ambulances. We did a mock drill in govt hospitals a few days ago. The Centre has directed us to now hold another mock drill on April 11 and 12 in all hospitals. A media awareness campaign will be started soon. At the airport, 2% of passengers are randomly tested. All Delhi government hospitals have been told to prepare isolation wards. If someone has a kidney ailment and are tested positive for Covid, they will not be shifted to a covid hospital but will be treated in the isolation ward," the CM added.
"All acute respiratory disease patients are being tested extensively and are being asked to mask up. 5% of Influenza patients are being tested randomly. There is no need to worry, we are well prepared," he asserted.
Speaking to the media after holding a meeting on Covid preparation Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Friday said: "Yesterday, Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj held a meeting with health officials and today I held a meeting with them. The Centre identified six states two weeks ago where covid cases were increasing. These states were Kerala, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, karnataka and Telangana. Delhi was not among those states. They were given special instructions. In Delhi, there were only 42 cases on March 15. Within 10 days, the number rose to 295 on March 30.''
"We are trying to understand the sudden jump. Currently, there are 932 active cases. We conducted 2,363 tests yesterday. There is no need to worry, yet we are taking all precautions. There have been three deaths this year so far and all of them had severe co-morbid conditions. Deaths were likely because of existing conditions and Covid was incidental. But this cannot be ascertained. In one case, a person had a kidney transplant and was in hospital for three months. To say he died of Covid is perhaps not right. But three people who had Covid have also died. Out of these, two were from outside Delhi," the CM pointed out.
"At present, we are conducting genome sequencing of all Covid cases that are being detected. We aim to be aware if there is a new variant. The most predominant variant at present is XBB1.16. This is present in 48 per cent of cases. The others are also sub-variants of this. This variant has three features. Viral is spreading very quickly, but it is not severe. Hospitalisation and deaths are not very high. But it has evasion to immunisation," he added.
Across the country, the number of people who have recuperated from the disease stands at 4.41 crore while the case fatality was recorded at 1.19 per cent.
Meanwhile, 220.65 crore Covid vaccine doses have been administered under the nationwide drive so far. Read more
According to experts, the recent spike in Covid-19 cases has been “amplified by the absence of social distancing measures following two years of reduced flu cases”, which could mean potential exposure for people more susceptible to infection. “There may be an increase in the Covid cases recently because the weather conditions are optimal for virus survival,” said Dr Tushar Tayal, consultant, internal medicine, CK Birla Hospital, Gurugram.
In such a scenario they vehemently stress the urgent need to take preventative measures to avoid falling sick. Read more
Maharashtra has seen a 15-fold rise in active Covid cases in 30 days, sparking a fresh worry about the spread of the virus.
On Thursday, the state recorded 694 fresh Covid patients, taking the active tally to 3,016.
The state had just 198 active Covid cases on March 1, according to data from the health department. Read more