Extended holiday weekend, which saw testing centres working almost at half their capacities, led daily Covid-19 cases falling to 29,163 while recoveries remained at 40,791 in the last 24 hours. As many as 449 people succumbed to infection during the same period.
The confirmed Covid-19 cases in the country stood at 88.74 lakh of which 82.9 lakh recovered. India now has 4,53,401 active cases. As many as 1,30,519 people died of Covid-19 in the country so far.
A sudden drop in new cases in Delhi and Kerala, which have been testing at significantly lower numbers, was one of the major reasons for fall in new cases nationally. While as many as 3,797 people tested positive in the national capital, Kerala reported 2,710 fresh cases in the last 24 hours.
Citing low Covid-19 incidence during the last two days, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain claimed that Delhi is past its third peak, which saw daily cases going up as high as around 8,000 in the previous week. Concerned over the rapid increase in the capital of late, Home Minister Amit Shah convened a high-level meeting where Union Health Harsh Vardhan and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal participated.
The meeting came out with a 12-point agenda, including doubling the tests and making more ICU and oxygen-supported beds available for tackling the resurgent Covid-19 numbers in Delhi. The meeting also decided to fly in doctors and paramedical staff from Central Armed Police Force centres across the country to meet the surging need for healthcare personnel in Delhi.