The death toll from Covid-19 increased by 24, and three additional deaths were reconciled by the states, bringing the overall death toll to 531,141. Gujarat had the most fatalities with six, followed by Uttar Pradesh with four.
According to data from the health ministry, three deaths were reported in each of Delhi and Rajasthan over the past 24 hours. Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Kerala, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Bihar reported the remaining fatalities. On Monday, the nation reported 9,111 new cases, a tiny decrease from Sunday's 10,093 cases, primarily as a result of less testing. However, according to ministry data, the positive rate increased to 8.4%.
Despite a continuous surge in cases, the uptake of Covid vaccines remains low. Only 198 doses of the vaccine were administered across the country, according to government data. Earlier, between April 10 and April 16, only about 3,000 vaccine doses could be administered. “There aren’t many takers for the vaccines. Also, hospitals have run out of stocks because many of the doses they had purchased from the manufacturers expired and they didn’t make fresh orders,” an official said.
Dr Harsh Mahajan, chairman of FICCI Health Services Committee, said the continuous rise in cases was a matter of concern but there was no cause for panic. “XBB.1,16, which is fuelling the current surge in Covid cases, is a milder variant of Omicron which predominantly affects the upper respiratory passages and not so much the lungs,” he said.
Dr Mahajan, however, added that those in the vulnerable category, for example those above 75, people with comorbidities and weak immunity, needed to be very careful because the disease may take serious form in them.