India's daily Covid-19 infection rate continued to remain above 40,000 for the sixth straight day, setting off worries of a third wave in the world's second most populous nation.
40,134 people tested positive for the coronavirus in the last 24 hours, according to the Health Ministry's update on Aug. 2. Daily recoveries remained lower around 37,000, taking active cases higher to nearly 4.14 lakh.
There were fewer deaths reported during the period. However, 422 patients succumbed to the deadly pathogen in a single day.
Key Coronavirus Data
Total confirmed cases: 3,16,95,958
Total number of active cases: 4,13,718
Total patients cured/discharged/migrated: 3,08,57,467
Total deaths: 4,24,773
Number of fresh cases in last 24 hours: 40,134
Number of recoveries in a day: 36,946
Deaths recorded in a day: 422
Total vaccine doses administered: 47,22,23,639
Doses administered in the last 24 hours: 17,06,598
India may see a worsening of its outbreak as soon as this month, that would build into a new -- though smaller -- virus wave, according to a mathematical model by researchers who accurately predicted the tapering of the second wave.
The third wave may peak in October with less than 1,00,000 infections a day in the best-case scenario, or nearly 1,50,000 in the worst, according to estimates by researchers led by Mathukumalli Vidyasagar and Manindra Agrawal at Indian Institute of Technology in Hyderabad and Kanpur respectively.
