India reported 3,17,532 new coronavirus infections, the highest in 249 days, and its total Covid-19 cases reached 3,82,18,773, including 9,287 Omicron variants, according to data from the Union Health Ministry on Thursday. The number of active cases surged to 19,24,051, the highest in 234 days, while the death toll climbed to 4,87,693, with 491 new deaths, the ministry said. Active cases now account for 5.03% of total infections, while the national Covid-19 recovery rate has dropped to 93.09%, it said.

India recorded 2,82,970 new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, up nearly 45,000 from the previous day. While some cities such as Delhi and Mumbai are starting to see a downward trend, some states such as Kerala, Maharashtra and Gujarat are still reporting high numbers. Are we close to a third wave peak? New Covid-19 cases in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata have peaked in the past seven days, said IIT Kanpur scientist Manindra Agrawal. He said Covid-19 cases will peak this week in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Haryana, while Andhra Pradesh, Assam and Tamil Nadu States like Germany could peak next week. India’s third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic is likely to peak on January 23 and daily cases may remain below 400,000, Agrawal said.

A new study suggests that Omicron infection may not confer broad immunity in unvaccinated individuals, preventing other mutations. This research further makes vaccination even more important in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, India has administered more than 1.58 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccine (first, second and prophylactic) as of January 18.

Complete News Source : FINANCIAL EXPRESS