New Delhi: India has logged 180 new cases of Covid, while the number of active cases of the infection has declined to 2,804, the health ministry said on Tuesday (January 16). Three deaths have been reported in Maharashtra in a span of 24 hours, according to the ministry’s data updated at 8 am. The number of daily cases had dropped to double-digits till December 5, 2023, but they again began to increase after the emergence of a new variant and cold weather conditions.
A single-day rise of 841 new cases was reported on December 31, 2023, which is 0.2 per cent of the peak cases reported in May 2021, official sources said.
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Of the total active cases, a large majority of these (around 92 per cent) are recovering under home isolation. Sources stated,
The currently available data suggests that the JN.1 variant is neither leading to an exponential rise in new cases nor a surge in hospitalisation and mortality.
India has witnessed three waves of COVID-19 in the past with the peak incidence of daily new cases and deaths being reported in the Delta wave during April-June 2021.
At its peak, 4,14,188 new cases and 3,915 deaths were reported on May 7, 2021.
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Since the pandemic began in early 2020, more than 4.5 crore people have got infected and over 5.3 lakh people have died across the country due to the infection.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease stands at over 4.4 crore with a national recovery rate of 98.81 per cent, according to the ministry’s website.
According to the website, 220.67 crore doses of Covid vaccines have so far been administered in the country.
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Maharashtra on Monday (January 15) reported 35 new COVID-19 cases and three fresh fatalities linked to the respiratory illness, officials said. Of the three deaths caused due to COVID-19, one each was reported from Pune city, Navi Mumbai and Sangli district, they said.
Among the new cases, the Mumbai administrative circle logged the highest at 19, followed by 11 in the Pune circle, three in Kolhapur and one each in Nashik and Latur circles, said the officials.
An administrative circle consists of multiple districts.
At present, Maharashtra has 630 active cases of COVID-19 with the Mumbai circle accounting for the highest at 312, they said.
So far, 250 cases of the new coronavirus sub-variant JN.1 have been found in Maharashtra, the officials added.
The World Health Organisation has classified JN.1 as a separate ‘variant of interest’ (VoI) given its rapidly-increasing spread, but said it poses a ‘low’ global public health risk. The JN.1 sub-variant of coronavirus was previously classified as a variant of interest as part of the BA.2.86 sub-lineage, the parent lineage that is classified as a VoI, the world body said.
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NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which in its Season 10 is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Ayushmann Khurrana. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In a world post COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental well-being, self-care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
