Active cases fell by 27,438 to 975,861 on Tuesday. Recoveries of 101,468 brought the total to more than 4.49 million, or 81% of the cases reported so far.
The development comes as a respite for the country, which added some 90,000 cases almost every day this month. “It’s a relief, but the next few months, when festival season starts, will be crucial,” said Vinod Paul of Niti Aayog.
India’s cases per million population (4,031) are among the lowest in the world, according to data available from the health ministry. The figure for the world is 3,965. But the overall situation is under control, Paul added. India also has the lowest death rate in the world, health ministry officials said.
Recoveries outpaced new cases for four consecutive days, said Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan. “This kind of rolling trend has not been seen in the country since May,” Bhushan said. The number of active cases in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal decreased in the week ending September 22 compared to the previous week.
In UP, active cases fell to 5,956 from Sept. 16-22 from 6,477 in the previous week. In Tamil Nadu, the number dropped to 5,546 from 5,607 and in Delhi, active cases dropped to 3,960 from 4,001 during this period.
Maharashtra, the epicenter of the pandemic in India, reported fewer cases last week, Health Ministry officials said.
.
