COVID-19 India: Active cases drop below 5.5 lakh

India has reported a decline in the number of fresh Covid-19 cases with 38,310 new cases of the novel coronavirus, pushing the nation’s tally to 82,67,623, said the Union health ministry on Tuesday.

According to the latest health update, 490 more deaths were reported in the country in the last 24 hours. With fresh deaths, the nation’s toll now stands at 1,23,097.

There are 5,41,405 active Covid-19 cases and 76,03,121 cured cases. Also, 58,323 people were discharged in the last 24 hours.

The slower pace of daily infections and an improved recovery rate have led to a sharp decline in active cases. They fell below 5.5 lakh for the first time in more than three months, after climbing above 10 lakh in mid-September. Active cases now account for less than seven percent of the total caseload.

The Union health ministry said on Monday that the country continues to occupy the top position globally in terms of coronavirus recoveries. The total number of active cases have witnessed a sustained downward trend with its percentage having reduced more than three times in just two months.

On Monday, Delhi recorded 4,001 fresh Covid-19 cases, taking the infection tally to over 3.96 lakh, even as the positivity rate hovered around 11 per cent, state health bulletin said. 42 new fatalities were also recorded, pushing the death toll to 6,604.

The global tally of coronavirus cases stands at 47,284,293. While 33,982,192 have recovered, 1,210,378 have died so far. The US, the worst-hit country, has 9,554,646 cases, and 236,880 have died from the disease there. It is followed by India, which has 8,267,623 cases, Brazil (5,554,206) and Russia (1,655,038).