India records 26,382 new Covid-19 cases; death toll crosses 144,000

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Dec 16, 2020:    India recorded 26,382 new cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in the last 24 hours, according to Union health ministry update on Wednesday. With this, the nationwide tally reached 99,32,547.

 

The number of active cases, which have been steadily falling, stood at 3,32,002, the health ministry update at 8 am showed. And 94,56,449 patients have been cured or discharged from the hospitals.

The country also recorded 387 fresh fatalities due to Covid-19, which took the nationwide death toll to 1,44,096.

India’s daily case trajectory is at its lowest level in five months. On Monday, India recorded 22,022 new Covid-19 cases. This is the lowest number of new infections reported across the country since July 2, when the country saw 21,853 daily cases.

The numbers are also receding in every major hotspot region in the country, according to analysis of data done by Hindustan Times. In India’s worst-hit state, Maharashtra, the seven-day average of daily cases has dropped nearly 82 per cent from the peak of 22,149 seen on September 17.

Senior government officials said on Tuesday that India has bucked the global trend and is showing a sustained improvement in containing the Covid-19 outbreak. But at the same time, they warned that trends in other countries are also a strong reminder of how the situation can quickly go out of control even if one peak is contained.

Senior government officials said on Tuesday that India has bucked the global trend and is showing a sustained improvement in containing the Covid-19 outbreak. But at the same time, they warned that trends in other countries are also a strong reminder of how the situation can quickly go out of control even if one peak is contained..

“Active cases have declined from over 10 lakh in mid-September to fewer than four lakh at present... India’s cumulative fatality rate has also come down to 6.37%, and if you take into account the last week, it is 3%,” said said Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan.

According to Bhushan, preparations are underway to prepare local officials to receive and administer vaccines, a process that is likely to cover close to 300 million people by the middle of next year.

Courtesy:Hindustan Times