Union Health Ministry said on January 27 that ten states were contributing at least 77 per cent of total active cases across the country. More than 90 per cent of the active cases, it said, are under home isolation, indicating mild to moderate clinical severity.
The Ministry said vaccines have remained beneficial for India as it has prevented deaths and resulted in less hospitalisation. At last 64 per cent patients who died during the third wave in Delhi were either not vaccinated or were having comorbidities, it said.
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As many as 9,672 cases of Omicron samples were recorded in January, 2022 which is about 75 percent of samples, as compared to 1,292 in December, 2021 according to Dr SK Singh, Director National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). He said cases of Delta variant were also found in states.
As on January 27, there are 22,02,472 active COVID-19 cases in India, the Health Ministry said.
“The case positivity rate is at 17.75 percent (last week). Eleven states have more than 50,000 active cases. Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala have more than 3 lakh active cases,” Lav Agarwal, joint secretary, Union Ministry of Health said during the routine press conference on January 27
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There are over three lakh active cases in Karnataka, Maharashtra and Kerala and over one lakh in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, the Ministry said. As of January 26, as many as 551 districts were reporting case positivity rate of over 5 per cent, it said.
The Ministry said that at least 95 per cent first dose vaccination coverage and 74 per cent second dose coverage has been achieved in the country so far. Also, 97.03 lakh eligible population has received ‘precaution dose’, it said.
"On May 7, 2021, at peak of second wave of COVID-19 when there were 4,14,188 new cases and 3679 deaths, only 3 per cent people were fully vaccinated. On January 21, 2022, there were 3,47,254 new cases and 435 deaths while fully vaccinated people are 75 percent now,” Agarwal said
The Ministry officials also urged people with comorbidities be be extra careful and avoid large gatherings.
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The Health Ministry officials said that early indications of a plateau in cases is being reported in certain geographies. The trend, however, needs to be observed and required precautions need to be continued, they said.
On January 27, India recorded 2,86,364 in the last 24 hours. With 3,06,357 recoveries, the number of active cases has declined to 22,02,472 across the country. The daily positivity rate has increased slightly to 19.59 per cent, while the weekly positivity rate is now 17.75 per cent, according to Union Health Ministry.
