The first case of COVID-19 in India was reported on January 30, 2020; the index patient was a student
who had returned from Wuhan. Thereafter, only 2 more cases were reported in February. Subsequently,
more cases came to the forefront in the month of March and there has been a surge in the number of
cases since the latter half of April 2020 . As of June 9, 2020, according to the Ministry of
Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), a total of 266 598 confirmed COVID-19 cases have been reported from
32 states/union territories.
covid cases:
Most of the cases have been reported from the states of Maharashtra,
Tamil Nadu, Delhi, and Gujarat. Hitherto, the MoHFW have reported 7471 deaths due to COVID-19, translating
into a case-fatality rate of 2.8%.
The COVID-19 pandemic in India is a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)
caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). As of 27 September 2021, according
to official figures,
India has the second-highest number of confirmed cases in the world (after the United States of America)
with 33,678,786 reported
cases of COVID-19 infection and the third-highest number of COVID-19 deaths (after the United States and
Brazil) at 479,133 deaths.
However these figures exhibit severe under-reporting.
The first cases of COVID-19 in India were reported on 30 January 2020 in three towns of Kerala, among
three Indian medical students
who had returned from Wuhan, the epicenter of the pandemic. Lockdowns were announced in Kerala on 23
March, and in the rest of the country on 25 March. On 10 June, India's recoveries exceeded active cases
for the first time.Infection rates started to drop in September, along with the number of new and active
cases. Daily cases peaked mid-September with over 90,000 cases reported per-day,
dropping to below 15,000 in January 2021.A second wave beginning in March 2021 was much more devastating
than the first, with shortages of vaccines, hospital beds, oxygen cylinders and other medical supplies in
parts of the country.[16] By late April, India led the world in new and active cases. On 30 April 2021, it
became the first country to report over 400,000 new cases in a 24-hour period.
Experts stated that the virus may reach an endemic stage in India rather than completely disappear; in
late August 2021, Soumya Swaminathan said India may be in some stage of endemicity where the country
learns to live with the virus.
India began its vaccination programme on 16 January 2021 with AstraZeneca vaccine (Covishield) and the
indigenous Covaxin.Later, Sputnik V and the Moderna vaccine was approved for emergency use too. As of 17
August 2021, the country had administered over 550 million vaccine doses.On 21 October 2021, at 9:47 AM
according to the Co-WIN portal, India crossed 100 crore (1 billion) doses
LATEST NEWS ::
1.'Mistakes of 2021 being repeated': Top doctors warn against unwarranted medications, tests to treat Covid
In an open letter, 32 doctors and health experts from across India, Canada and the US have appealed to the Centre, state governments, the Indian Medical Association and medical professionals to discourage the use of medications and diagnostics that have no supporting evidence for the treatment of Covid-19.
“While there continues to be much uncertainty amidst the outbreak of this novel disease, there is now substantive high-quality scientific literature that provides unequivocal guidance on the clinical management of Covid-19. Despite the weight of this evidence and the crushing death toll of the delta wave, we find the mistakes of the 2021 response being repeated in 2022,” the doctors wrote in the letter.
These “mistakes” include prescribing medications like vitamin combinations, azithromycin, doxycycline, hydroxychloroquine, favipiravir, and ivermectin, that are backed by limited evidence that they are effective against Covid-19.
"Such wanton use of drugs is not without harm as the Delta wave has shown. Outbreaks of opportunistic fungal infections like mucormycosis in India and aspergillosis in Brazil were attributed to the widespread abuse of inappropriate medications," the letter reads.
2.Stocking up on home-testing kits? Doctors believe the pricier RT-PCR test is a better option
The spread of the third Covid wave has been faster than that of the second one, according to some experts. Reluctance to follow Covid-safety protocols is adding to the number of cases.
India logged 2,47,417 new coronavirus infections on Thursday, the highest in 236 days, taking the total tally of Covid cases to 3,63,17,927, including 5,488 cases of the Omicron variant.
As the nation is heading towards a Covid peak, the Delta and Omicron variants are causes of heightened concern
The sudden surge of Covid cases has increased the demand for self-testing kits across the nation.
Priced between Rs 250 and Rs 350, these kits are a cheaper alternative to the forever-fluctuating rates of RT-PCR (Reverse Transcription–Polymerase Chain Reaction) tests that are conducted by health technicians.
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