India logs 10,158 new cases in last 24 hours; Covid entering endemic stage: Health officials

India has reported a sharp spike in number of new Covid cases crossing 10,000 mark in a single day. India logged 10,158 fresh cases on Thursday, health ministry data showed as active infections surged to 44,998. In last 24 hours 19 new fatalities have been recorded in the country. A total of 4,42,10,127 people have recuperated so far with the recovery rate rising to 98.71%. Meanwhile, with 19 new fatalities, the death toll due the disease has increased to 5,31,035. The fatality rate stands at 1.19%, the health ministry data revealed.

Meanwhile, Health officials on Wednesday said Covid-19 in India is moving towards the endemic stage and the infections may keep rising for the next 10-12 days after which they will subside, news agency PTI reported. According to the officials, even though the cases are rising, hospitalization is low and is expected to remain low.

Delhi and Maharashtra each records over 1000 cases

Delhi on Wednesday reported 1149 new Covid-19 cases while the positivity rate stood at 23.8 per cent. As per the data released by Delhi health department, one death was reported. number of active cases has risen to 3,347. On the other hand, Maharashtra on Wednesday evening reported 1,115 new Covid-19 cases, with 9 deaths. The number of active cases rose to 5,421. For Delhi, current infection rate, prevails at 23 per cent, is a matter of concern.

Gujarat registers 397 new cases, 1 death

Gujarat recorded 397 new cases of Covid-19 and two deaths on Wednesday. While 350 patients have recovered from the infection. Ahmedabad, was at the top in the tally with 139 cases, whereas Mehsana 46, Baroda 38, Surat 41, Valsad 20, Morbi and Sabar Kantha each 16, Rajkot 13, while, Anand and Bharuch each reported 9 new cases of Covid – 19. One fatality each has been reported from Ahmedabad and Mehsana. Currently, there are total 1992 active cases in the state, out of which 4 patients are being treated on ventilator.

The current surge driven by XBB.1.16, a sub variant

The current surge in infections is being driven by XBB.1.16, a sub variant of Omicron. While Omicron and its sub-lineages continue to be the dominant variant in India, most of them have little or no significant transmissibility, disease severity or immune escape, officials said.

Notably, the prevalence of XBB.1.16 increased from 21.6 per cent in February this year to 35.8 per cent in March. However, no evidence of an increase in hospitalization or mortality has been reported, officials added.