Deaths significantly less in 3rd Covid wave due to high vaccination: Govt

Govt said 94% of India's adults have been administered first dose of Covid vaccine, while 72% are fully vaccinated

Deaths are significantly less in the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in comparison to the second wave, and the current surge is not witnessing increase in severe illness or death following high vaccination uptake, the government said on Thursday.

It said that 94 per cent of India's adults have been administered first dose of Covid vaccine, while 72 per cent are fully vaccinated.

For the 15-18 years age group, the government said 52 per cent have received their first dose of Covid vaccine.

Eleven states and union territories have more than 50,000 active COVID-19 cases and 515 districts are reporting a weekly case positivity of over five per cent, it said.

On the Covid situation in Delhi, it said bed occupancy or hospitalisation is significantly lower in the third Covid wave as compared to the second wave.

In Delhi, upper respiratory tract infection is common symptom among those in 11-18 years, while around 99 per cent adult Covid patients have common symptoms of fever, cough, irritation in throat, the government said.

Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said that the country has reported 317,532 new COVID-19 cases and 380 deaths in the past 24 hours.

Bhushan informed that Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Odisha, Delhi and Rajasthan are among the top ten states in terms of active cases.

Following these observations of COVID-19 infection in these states, he said that Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh are among the "States of Concern".

"We have sent Central health teams to these States and are continuously reviewing the situation," he added.

Comparing the third surge of COVID-19 with the last surge, Bhushan said, "In the last surge of COVID-19, on 30 April 2021, there were 386,452 new cases, 3,059 deaths, and over 31 lakh active cases reported in India."

Speaking about an alarming rise in coronavirus infection cases, the Union Health Secretary asserted that Europe has been contributing around 38 per cent of the total COVID-19 positive cases across the country.

"Asia is showing a sharp surge in global contribution from 7.9 per cent to approximately 18.4 per cent in four weeks, out of which Europe has been contributing around 38 per cent. A sharp surge is also seen in COVID19 cases in India," Bhushan added.