India’s active caseload increased by 1,800 during the last 24 hours
Photo: iStock India recorded 3,641 cases of COVID-19 as of 1pm April 3, 2023, pushing the active case tally beyond 20,219, according to health ministry data.
As many as seven people died of the infection in the last 24 hour-period — three from Maharashtra and one each from Rajasthan, Kerala, Karnataka and Delhi.
The national count of new cases came from 59,512 samples tested for COVID-19.
India’s active caseload increased by 1,800 during the last 24 hours and the daily positivity rate is 6.12 per cent.
Kerala recorded the biggest growth in active cases with 683 new infections, followed by Delhi (179), Maharashtra (164), Karnataka (151) and Haryana (145).
During the preceding 24 hours, the country had recorded 3,824 new cases — its biggest single-day addition in over six months — and five fatalities. This led to the active cases rising to 18,389, health ministry data showed.
The new subvariant of CoV-SARS-2, XBB.1.16, that was discovered in January this year, has been identified to be driving the surge in the national capital and probably the rest of India, experts noted.
Five genome testing labs in Pune, collectively called Pune-CoG, under the Indian SARS-CoV2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) will be activated in the face of rising COVID-19 cases across the country, Rajesh Karyakarte, Maharashtra coordinator for genome sequencing, told the Indian Express.
Some state governments, including Delhi and Haryana, held review meetings last week to take stock of the COVID-19 situation and containment measures. Experts have advised the people, at least those with symptoms, to wear masks when they step out.
Delhi recorded 429 cases, according to the Sunday bulletin, which also mentioned that the capital’s positivity rate rose to 16.09 per cent from around 2 per cent in the previous day’s bulletin.
As many as 87 COVID-19 patients are hospitalised in Delhi, with 44 in the ICU and 33 on oxygen support, reported The Times of India.
As many as 1,800 people recovered in the last 24 hours and 686 vaccine doses were administered, according to the Press Information Bureau.
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