India on Thursday recorded 42,982 fresh Covid cases, which is a slight increase in the number of cases from yesterday. The country also reported 533 deaths.
The daily test positivity rate stands at 2.58 per cent. The government has cautioned that the second wave is "still raging" and that eight states have shown an increase in the R-factor or the reproductive rate of the virus.
Kerala, which has emerged as the Number 1 hotspot in the country, today reported 22,414 fresh cases, which is slightly lower than yesterday's 23,676. The state also reported 108 deaths.
A central team that went to Kerala, in its report to the Union health ministry, has said contact tracing of COVID-19 patients in the state is low, home isolation guidelines are not being followed and the number of tests conducted to detect the infection is showing a downward trend. According to official sources, the report pointed out that people are becoming more complacent regarding Covid-appropriate behaviour and highlighted the need for ramping up vaccination.
Maharashtra, the state with the most number of cases in the country, reported 6,126 fresh cases. It also reported 195 deaths.
The active cases in the country have surged by more than 700 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the caseload to 4,11,076. This accounts for 1.29% of the total cases seen in the country so far.
With 41,726 patients recovering during the last 24 hours, the national recovery rate in the country has been logged at 97.3 per cent. The total recoveries from the viral contagion in the country stand at 30,974,748.
India has administered 48.93 crore Covid-19 doses so far, data released by the health ministry showed.
According to a study, India is likely to witness another surge in Covid-19 cases in August but not as grave as the second wave. Researchers Mathukumalli Vidyasagar and Manindra Agrawal at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Hyderabad and Kanpur respectively have predicted that a surge in Covid-19 cases will push the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic. The wave is likely to peak in October.