India daily cases below 1,500-mark for 3rd day amid global Omicron surge

India on Wednesday reported less than 1,500 cases for the third consecutive day. The number of new infections recorded in the last 24 hours stood at 1,233, lowest in almost two years. As per the data shared by the health ministry, the number of active cases fell to 14,704 or 0.03 per cent of the total cases.

Over the last 24 hours, 31 Covid-related deaths were registered, taking the total number of lives lost to around 5.21 Lakh since the start of the pandemic.

The daily positivity rate has dropped to 0.20 per cent and the weekly positivity rate slipped to 0.25 per cent on Wednesday.

26 lakh vaccine doses were registered in the last 24 hours, of which 12.74 lakh doses were given to children between 12-14 age group. Over 1.34 lakh booster vaccine doses were also administered in the last 24 hours. 183.82 crore vaccine doses have been administered so far since the beginning of the Nationwide Vaccination Drive.

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Meanwhile, several European nations are struggling with a fresh surge of infections. The BA.2 variant of the more infectious Omicron is believed to be spreading fast in March in some parts of Europe and China. The BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron accounted for more than half or 54.9% of the coronavirus cases in the US last week.

France, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom have registered a rise in Covid cases this month.

As China’s most populous city Shanghai is battling the Omicron-driven surge, China has imposed even tighter restrictions.

“Covid-19 pandemic has made us realise the importance of strong primary health care systems, increasing investments in health, and effective public health systems,” India told UNSC on Tuesday as per news agency ANI.