India Reports 8,603 Covid Cases And 415 Deaths In Last 24 Hrs, Kerala Remains Major Contributor

The positivity rate stands at 0.29 percent with a death rate of 1.36 percent, as per the data updated by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Saturday morning.

Covid vaccination in India (Image: PTI)

New Delhi: India reported 8,603 new covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours taking the number of active cases to 99,974.  The death toll, on Friday, was 415 with 8,190 recoveries. The positivity rate stands at 0.29 percent with a death rate of 1.36 percent, as per the data updated by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Saturday morning.

The highest number of cases was recorded from Kerala at 4,995. There was a hike of 252 active cases than yesterday. On the other hand, Karnataka recorded 413 new cases. There was a hike of 169 in the active cases. Karnataka is a cause of concern as the new cases are emerging amid the fear of Omicron cases in India. On Friday, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) released the details of the two Omicron positive patients in Karnataka. One of them, a 46-year-old doctor, had no travel history.

On the other hand, three of his primary and two secondary contacts had tested positive for covid-19. Their samples have been sent for genome sequencing, results for which are still awaited. 12 more suspected patients in Delhi are waiting for the results from genome sequencing.

The experts said on Friday that Omicron has all the features to trigger a third covid-19 wave in India as it can outcompete the dangerous Delta variant which had caused the second wave in the country.

Although India is accelerating its vaccination drive, the uncertainty about the impact of Omicron on vaccine efficacy rings the bell of caution among healthcare experts. In order to curb Omicron before it gets out of hand, the centre and the states are working jointly to tackle the Omicron crisis.

The central and state authorities are preparing for a probable outbreak of the new variant. Omicron was first detected in South Africa on November 25. As many as 38 countries have confirmed cases of Omicron including India. However, no deaths have been reported yet.