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Covid-19 India Updates: New Cases Exceed Daily Recoveries For Fifth Straight Day

Follow the latest updates on the Covid-19 pandemic in India here.

<div class="paragraphs"><p>A mannequin head with a protective face mask and hat is displayed at a clothing store. (Photographer: Kentaro Takahashi/Bloomberg)</p></div>
A mannequin head with a protective face mask and hat is displayed at a clothing store. (Photographer: Kentaro Takahashi/Bloomberg)
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Fresh Covid-19 cases in India exceeded daily recoveries for the fifth straight day, at a time the nation ramped up the pace of vaccination amid concerns of an imminent third wave that drove fears of a repeat of the recent nightmare of oxygen shortages and overwhelmed hospitals.

India added 42,766 new cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total tally to 3.29 crore in the world’s second-most populous nation, according to the Health Ministry’s update as of 8 a.m. on Sept. 5. That’s also the fifth consecutive day of more than 40,000 fresh infections.

Key figures:

  • Total confirmed cases: 3,29,88,673

  • Total number of active cases: 4,10,048

  • Total patients cured/discharged/migrated: 3,21,38,092

  • Total deaths: 4,40,533

  • Number of fresh cases in last 24 hours: 42,766

  • One-day recoveries: 38,091

  • One-day deaths: 308

A rise in fresh infections caused the active cases to exceed the the 4-lakh mark, the first since Aug. 9. Active cases constitute 1.24% of India’s total Covid caseload, while recoveries constitute 97.42%.

New Covid-19 cases, however, have receded from the peak of 4 lakh touched early May amid the second wave of the pandemic. The number of deaths reported, too, has dropped. But actual casualties are feared to be much higher on account of underestimation because of under-counting, a backlog in the civil registration system and a lack of testing leading to Covid deaths being classified under other conditions like heart disease.

Meanwhile, India has vaccinated 68.5 crore people, with 71.6 lakh doses administered in the last 24 hours, according to the Health Ministry. Total number of tests done during the previous day was 17.5 lakh.

Daily inoculation in the nation of 130 crore people had exceeded 1 crore twice in August — a feat that was not achieved in the past seven months of the world’s largest Covid-19 vaccination programme.

Still, the increased pace may not be fast enough to fulfill Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s aim to vaccinate all the country’s adult population by the year-end.

A new study, according to a Bloomberg report, predicts that India may record an unprecedented 600,000 new infections a day if it fails to boost the pace of vaccination and avert a third wave. The National Institute of Disaster Management predicts a surge in cases as early as October. Daily infections, it said, however, could reduce to 200,000 if the government executes its 1-crore-a-day vaccination plan.

Other forecasters, too, have predicted a new wave, albeit weaker than the previous surge.

The NIDM study even suggested vaccinating children with serious underlying health conditions.

India, which has fully vaccinated only 10.5% of its population, has now approved six vaccines. Serum Institute’s Covishield, developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca; and Bharat Biotech Ltd.’s Covaxin are widely used. Russia’s Sputnik V has been administered in small numbers. While shots from Johnson & Johnson and Moderna Inc. have been granted approval, they aren’t being used as of now.

The country has also granted emergency-use approval to its first DNA-based three-dose vaccine developed by Cadila Healthcare Ltd., which had reported 67% efficacy against symptomatic Covid in clinical trials in July. The drugmaker also said the jab was safe for children in the age group of 12-18 years.

Global Update

Globally, Covid-19 cases have topped 22.01 crore, with deaths exceeding 45 lakh. More than 456 crore vaccine doses have been administered across the world.

For more global updates on the coronavirus pandemic, read here...