It appears that the second wave of Covid-19 is now behind us, as India has witnessed less than 1 lakh of new cases of Covid-19 in the past 15 days. India reported less than 50,000 new coronavirus infections on Tuesday after 91 days. The Covid-19 situation has improved but the emergence of new Delta Plus variant could pose serious threats in the coming days.
The Union Health Ministry has classified the Delta Plus variant of the new coronavirus as a ‘variant of concern’. India is among the 10 countries (United States, United Kingdom, Portugal, Switzerland, Japan, Poland, Nepal, China and Russia) where the Delta Plus variant has been detected. It has been found in three states – Maharashtra, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh – so far. The Department of Health has already issued alerts and ordered states to take immediate containment measures when the variant has been found. According to Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan, the Delta Plus variant was detected in 22 samples in six districts of the country. “Sixteen of them were found in Jalgaon and Ratnagiri districts in Maharashtra; the others were detected in Kerala (Palakkad and Pathanamthitta) and Madhya Pradesh (Bhopal and Shivpuri)… Tuesday.
In the meantime, the current vaccination campaign has accelerated. According to reports, on day 2 of the new vaccination policy, more than 50 lakh doses were administered until late evening. During the 2 days of the new plan, 1.39 crore people get vaccinated. India saw the administration of 88.09 lakh doses on Monday. With the threat of the Delta Plus variant and the unlocking of India, the government must step up the pace of vaccination to protect itself from another deadly wave. Several states / UTs like Delhi, Gujarat, West Bengal, Telangana and Kerala have already started to prepare for a possible third wave by strengthening health infrastructure.
India has reported 50,848 new cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to more than 30 million, according to data from the Union Ministry of Health on Wednesday. The death toll also climbed to 390,660 with 1,358 new deaths. Active Covid-19 cases in the country fell further to 6,43,194 and now accounted for 2.14% of total infections, while the national recovery rate improved to 96.56%, the Health Ministry said.
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