India logs 42,015 new COVID cases, 3,998 deaths in past 24 hours
Meanwhile, experts believe the Delta variant could be the most dominant strain in the United States in the coming weeks.
India recorded 42,015 new cases of the novel coronavirus, along with 3,998 deaths due to the infection in the past 24 hours. According to the data shared by the Union Health Ministry on Wednesday, the country saw a total of 36,977 discharges in the last 24 hours, taking the total recovery to 3,03,90,687. The total cases of COVID-19 in India have now mounted to 3,12,16,337 with 4,07,170 active cases, the data showed. The total death toll in the country is now at 4,18,480.
A total of 41,54,72,455 people have so far been vaccinated across the country.
India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7 last year, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16.
It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19 last year.
| S. No. | Name of State / UT | Active Cases* | Cured/Discharged/Migrated* | Deaths** | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Change since yesterday | Cumulative | Change since yesterday | Cumulative | Change since yesterday | ||
| 1 | Andaman and Nicobar Islands | 19 | 3 | 7368 | 3 | 129 | |
| 2 | Andhra Pradesh | 23570 | 1138 | 1905000 | 2744 | 13154 | 22 |
| 3 | Arunachal Pradesh | 4260 | 49 | 38865 | 458 | 203 | 1 |
| 4 | Assam | 17454 | 361 | 526607 | 2138 | 5019 | 20 |
| 5 | Bihar | 680 | 45 | 713689 | 98 | 9630 | 1 |
| 6 | Chandigarh | 46 | 4 | 61038 | 8 | 809 | |
| 7 | Chhattisgarh | 3469 | 250 | 983200 | 562 | 13500 | 4 |
| 8 | Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu | 24 | 6 | 10577 | 2 | 4 | |
| 9 | Delhi | 567 | 25 | 1409968 | 58 | 25030 | 3 |
| 10 | Goa | 1436 | 126 | 165292 | 225 | 3111 | |
| 11 | Gujarat | 443 | 50 | 813998 | 70 | 10076 | |
| 12 | Haryana | 785 | 32 | 759179 | 56 | 9605 | 6 |
| 13 | Himanchal Pradesh | 969 | 38 | 200040 | 163 | 3507 | |
| 14 | Jammu and Kashmir | 1773 | 146 | 313886 | 268 | 4365 | 1 |
| 15 | Jharkhand | 336 | 9 | 341287 | 53 | 5122 | 2 |
| 16 | Karanataka | 27550 | 1764 | 2821491 | 3015 | 36197 | 40 |
| 17 | Kerala | 122202 | 3333 | 3033258 | 13206 | 15408 | 58 |
| 18 | Ladakh | 99 | 4 | 19959 | 11 | 206 | |
| 19 | Lakshadweep | 72 | 4 | 9955 | 8 | 49 | |
| 20 | Madhya Pradesh | 202 | 17 | 780956 | 29 | 10512 | |
| 21 | Maharashtra | 99709 | 7100 | 5993401 | 13051 | 127097 | 66 |
| 22 | Manipur | 9693 | 17 | 74511 | 741 | 1392 | 16 |
| 23 | Meghalaya | 4033 | 54 | 52787 | 323 | 955 | 10 |
| 24 | Mizoram | 6482 | 479 | 21688 | 325 | 125 | 3 |
| 25 | Nagaland | 1147 | 2 | 25067 | 62 | 530 | 2 |
| 26 | Odisha | 18192 | 658 | 932666 | 2248 | 5116 | 58 |
| 27 | Puducherry | 1041 | 83 | 116926 | 125 | 1778 | |
| 28 | Punjab | 953 | 93 | 581197 | 142 | 16237 | 4 |
| 29 | Rajasthan | 435 | 37 | 944007 | 69 | 8951 | 1 |
| 30 | Sikkim | 2429 | 121 | 20896 | 136 | 324 | |
| 31 | Tamil Nadu | 27282 | 615 | 2476339 | 2558 | 33752 | 28 |
| 32 | Telangana | 9836 | 12 | 623773 | 729 | 3764 | 5 |
| 33 | Tripura | 4391 | 77 | 69269 | 410 | 729 | 1 |
| 34 | Uttarakhand | 604 | 19 | 333525 | 52 | 7357 | 1 |
| 35 | Uttar Pradesh | 1188 | 74 | 1683968 | 102 | 22728 | 9 |
| 36 | West Bengal | 12759 | 352 | 1488077 | 1006 | 18011 | 12 |
| Total# | 406130 | 15535 | 30353710 | 45254 | 414482 | 374 | |
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden has said that even though the United States has seen a dramatic drop in the number of COVID-19 deaths due to its vaccination program, the country needs to remain vigilant about the Delta variant of coronavirus.
Stressing the need for people to get vaccinated, he said "virtually all" of the Covid deaths and hospitalisations are among the unvaccinated.
The highly contagious Delta variant, also known as B.1.617.2, was first detected in India in December and is spreading quickly across the globe.
In some parts of America, the Delta strain accounts for more than 80 per cent of new infections, including some Midwestern states like Missouri, Kansas and Iowa.
Earlier this month, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had said that new Covid infections with the Delta variant account for 51.
7 per cent of the infections in the US.
Experts believe the Delta variant could be the most dominant strain in the country in the coming weeks. Local health officials say there is growing concern about the increasing number of adults and children getting infected with the Delta variant.
Biden further said the US is not just vaccinating itself but will also help the world.