India reports 3.33 lakh new Covid cases; 525 deaths in last 24 hours

India recorded 3,33,533 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the active caseload to 21,87,205. The country also reported 525 deaths during the same period, taking the toll to 4,89,409.  The daily positivity rate stood at 17.78 per cent, while 18,75,533 tests were conducted during this time period. While the daily positivity rate and weekly positivity rate stand at 17.78 per cent and 16.87 per cent respectively, the recovery rate stands at 93.18 per cent. During the last 24 hours, the number of recoveries stood at 2,59,168, taking the total recoveries to 3,65,60,650, the Health Ministry said in a statement on Sunday. With the administration of 71,10,445 vaccine doses in the last 24 hours, India’s Covid vaccination coverage has touched 1,61,92,84,270 according to provisional reports. This has been achieved through 1,74,72,203 sessions. In terms of recovery, 2,59,168 patients have recovered in the last 24 hours and the cumulative tally of recovered patients (since the beginning of the pandemic) is now at 3,65,60,650. India’s active caseload is at 21,87,205 and active cases constitute 5.57 per cent of the positive cases. “The testing capacity across the country continues to be expanded. The last 24 hours saw a total of 18,75,533 tests being conducted. India has so far conducted over 71.55 crore (71,55,20,580) cumulative tests,” the ministry said. Meanwhile, INSACOG in its latest bulletin released on Sunday said, “Omicron is now in community transmission in India and has become dominant in multiple metros, where new cases have been rising exponentially. The BA.2 lineage is a substantial fraction in India and S-gene dropout based screening is, thus, likely to give high false negatives. Tests suitable for PCR-based screening applicable to all Omicron lineages have been approved for use”.  While most Omicron cases so far have been asymptomatic or mild, hospitalisation and ICU cases have been increasing in the current wave, the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) added. “The threat level remains unchanged. The recently reported B.1.640.2 lineage [identified in France] is being monitored. There is no evidence of rapid spread and while it has features of immune escape, it is currently not a variant of concern. So far, no case has been detected in India,” INSACOG said.

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