India reports over 9,000 new covid cases in a day
2 min read . Updated: 26 Apr 2023, 12:29 PM IST
Premium- Scientists have said that the XBB.1.16 variant of coronavirus is responsible for the current surge in cases
New Delhi: India reported a sharp rise of over 9,629 covid cases in the last 24 hours, the union health ministry data showed on Wednesday. The daily positivity rate has reached 5.38%, while the weekly positivity rate stood at 5.61%.
Active covid cases have reached 61,013. In the last three years of the pandemic, India has reported more than 44.9 million covid cases and 531,398 deaths.
Karnataka reported 1,895 active cases, Kerala 1,5169 active cases, Maharashtra has 5,549 active cases, Gujarat 1,762 cases, Delhi recorded 4,995 cases, Tamil Nadu 3,585 active cases; Himachal Pradesh 1,270 cases, Haryana 5,011 cases, Chhattisgarh 3,025 cases, Rajasthan 3,549 and Uttar Pradesh with 4,257 cases so far.
According to epidemiologists, covid cases have been doubling every four to five days. Scientists have said that the XBB.1.16 variant of coronavirus is responsible for the current surge in cases. But in a relief, 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 44323045 people recovered from the infection with the current recovery rate touching 98.68%.
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 5407 vaccine doses were administered.