India's fatality in 3rd COVID-19 wave significantly lower than 2nd: health official-Xinhua

India's fatality in 3rd COVID-19 wave significantly lower than 2nd: health official

Source: Xinhua

Editor: huaxia

2022-01-20 21:29:00

NEW DELHI, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- India's health ministry said on Thursday that fatality in the ongoing third wave of COVID-19 pandemic is significantly lower than that in the second wave.

The information was given by senior health ministry official Rajesh Bhushan while presenting a comparison between the second and the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in India.

Bhushan noted the difference in the number of fatalities and the coverage of the vaccination.

"On April 30 last year, there were a total of 386,452 new cases and 3,170,228 active cases, 3,059 fatalities and only 2 percent were fully vaccinated. The scenario has changed in the third wave, as on Jan. 20 there are a total of 1,924,051 active cases and 380 deaths," he said.

According to Bhushan, the proportion of fully vaccinated people in the country stands at 72 percent, and the number of deaths has been significantly lower in the third coronavirus wave compared to the devastating second wave.

"The total positivity rate of India has risen from 2 percent at the beginning of the month to over 16 percent now. Tests conducted in the last four days have also increased in number, capturing the soaring daily cases," he said.

On Thursday morning, the health ministry reported 317,532 new cases and 491 related deaths across the country during the past 24 hours.

Currently, India is battling the third wave of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.