India reports lowest single-day rise in COVID cases since March

New Delhi: Amidst fears of the delta variant and third wave of COVID 19, India breathed a sigh of relief as reports came in of the lowest single-day rise in infections. Only 18,883 cases and 278 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours according to data from the Union Health Ministry. This number is the lowest reported rise in six months, the ministry said.

With this, the active caseload of the country stands at 2,46,687, accounting for less than 1% of the total cases and the lowest in 203 days. Active cases saw a decline of 6215 while number of recoveries rose to 24.770 in a 24 hour span.

The recovery rate is also at its highest since March, with the health ministry reporting 97.94%. With this, India's coronavirus infection case count has risen to 33,871,881 to date. However, deaths from Covid have continued to increase in the country. So far 4,49,538 people have died from coronavirus infection as per the Centre's data.

Vaccinations are progressing much more smoothly after India hit the 92 crore vaccination landmark. A total of 66.68 crore individuals have received the first shot of Covid-19 and 25.43 crores have received the second dose. As cases dwindle, some states have begun relaxing COVID 19 restrictions. Kerala has allowed schools and colleges to reopen from November 1, while cinema theatres will open in late October.

Maharashtra has also decided to open religious places of worship with the advent of Navaratri and Durga Pooja although Bengal has opted out of festivities. Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Odisha, etc have eased Covid-19 restrictions for both residents and tourists.