COVID-19: India sees 90% jump in daily cases; 0.83% positivity rate recorded on April 18

India recorded a 90% jump in its daily COVID figures, sparking concerns of yet another coronavirus outbreak. Over the last 24 hours, 2,183 fresh COVID cases have been reported, an 89.8% increase from yesterday's case count of 1,150.

In the last 24 hours, there have been a total of 214 deaths. However, Kerala has a backlog of 212 deaths, of which 62 have been cleared as a result of court appeals. The state reported 150 deaths between April 13 and April 16.

The daily COVID-19 positivity rate rose from 0.31% on Sunday to 0.83% on Monday, indicating that the virus is spreading rapidly again. However, the number of active cases has decreased considerably, from 11,558 to 11,542. India has reported over 4.30 crore cases since the pandemic struck. 

Delhi is among the worst affected cities, seeing a sudden upsurge in the number of cases reported. The national capital reported 517 COVID cases in 24 hours. According to statistics released on Sunday, the total number of COVID infected patients in Delhi is 1,518, marking the highest since 3 March 2022. 

The cumulative COVID-19 doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive have surpassed 186.54 crore.

Several youngsters in Delhi and the nearby communities of Ghaziabad and Noida have tested positive in recent weeks, causing panic and closure of some schools. According to news agency PTI, a survey found that the number of individuals in the National Capital Region reporting someone getting infected in their close social network increased by 500% in the last 15 days.

However, there are no definite reasons to state the rise of COVID-19 cases in Delhi and Haryana. The surge is being credited to a complete withdrawal of the mandatory use of masks and leniency towards other COVID-19 restrictions. 

At a time when all states have removed COVID restrictions on public movement, the increase in cases is disconcerting. Many states have also eliminated the penalties for not wearing masks in public while recommending individuals to continue to do so in order to protect themselves against infection.

Schools and colleges have started operating at full capacity and the travel activity of people are now similar to re-COVID times. Businesses, too, have resumed operating at full capacity.