The world’s second-worst-hit country has 55,342 new cases, its lowest single-day count since mid-August.
India has recorded 55,342 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, its lowest count in a single day since mid-August.
The Health Ministry on Tuesday raised India’s confirmed total to more than 7.18 million cases, but said the country had shown a downward trend in daily cases over the past five weeks.
According to the ministry’s data, the average number of daily cases between September 9 and 15 was 92,830.
That average has steadily declined since then, dropping to less than 73,000 a day over the last week.
The Health Ministry also reported 706 deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing the number to 109,856.
The states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh reported the highest number of deaths, with almost 60 percent of the national total.
Meanwhile, India’s testing rate has remained constant, with more than a million tests being performed every day.
But experts say the actual number of infections may be much higher, as testing rates in the vast country, home to some of the world’s most populous cities, are much lower than in many other countries.
India, home to nearly 1.4 billion people, ranks second in the world for total COVID-19 cases, behind only the United States, which is approaching 8 million.
India imposed one of the strictest national closures in the region in March, forcing people to stay home and close businesses, and prompted an exodus of millions of migrant workers.
In June, the country began a gradual reopening of economic activities.
Starting Thursday, theaters will reopen at 50 percent capacity, while the federal government has left the decision to reopen schools and other public venues to state governments.
However, experts fear that the upcoming festival season, when large crowds gather for public celebrations, could exacerbate the situation.
In anticipation of a further increase in cases, the government has issued strict guidelines and limited the number of revelers for the two main Hindu festivals of Dussehra on October 25 and Diwali early next month.
Meanwhile, the government said it hopes to have a vaccine ready soon.
“We hope that by early next year, we should have the vaccine in the country from perhaps more than one source,” Health Minister Harsh Vardhan was quoted as saying by DNA newspaper.
“Our expert groups are formulating strategies to plan how to implement the distribution of the vaccine in the country.”
