Covid Third Wave: New Omicron sub-variant is highly contagious, warns WHO

There is a slight relief in India’s Covid burden as the country’s positivity has dropped from 11.6% to 9.26%. The country logged 1,61,386 new Covid cases in the last 24 hours as per the Health Ministry data. India’s active caseload currently stands at 16,21,603.

Here are 5 latest updates on Covid-19 in India:

1. FEWER CASES IN INDIA

There is a drop in Covid cases in India. 1,61,386 new cases were reported over the past 24 hours. This number is 3% lower than the previous day.

2,81,109 people recovered from the virus on February 1. India’s current recovery rate stands at 94.91%.

As many as 1,733 Covid-related deaths were reported on February 1 in the country.

17,42,793 tests for Covid were conducted yesterday.

#Unite2FightCorona#LargestVaccineDrive#OmicronVariant ????? ?????https://t.co/d0DBUyccR8 pic.twitter.com/CeFzoU5LL5

— Ministry of Health (@MoHFW_INDIA) February 2, 2022

2. WHO ON OMICRON SUB-VARIANT

The World Health Organization has warned that the Omicron sub-variant is highly infectious and has been detected in 57 countries.

WHO has indicated a rise in cases linked with the BA.2 strain.

"BA.2- designated sequences have been submitted to GISAID from 57 countries to date," WHO said.

A few previous studies also hinted at the high transmission rate of this sub-variant. The studies also said it can go undetected in an RT-PCR test.

3. CASES IN KERALA RISING RAPIDLY

Kerala continues to report a surge in Covid cases each day. The state recorded 51,887 fresh Covid cases over the past 24 hours. More than 60% of the daily Covid cases in Kerala were reported among fully vaccinated people.

4. STATES WITH MAXIMUM CASES

Kerala logged the maximum Covid cases on February 1 followed by Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.

The top five states that recorded maximum Covid cases yesterday are-

Kerala- 51,887 cases

Tamil Nadu- 16,096 cases

Maharashtra- 14,372 cases

Karnataka- 14,366 cases

Gujarat- 8,338 cases

5. IN OTHER STATES:

Delhi: The national capital reported 2,683 new cases on Tuesday. The positivity rate stands at 5.09%.

Maharashtra: The State eased Covid restrictions in many districts. 14,372 fresh cases were reported yesterday which is comparatively less than the previous day.