Shawdesh desk:

India’s single-day tally of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) dropped below the 60,000-mark on Sunday after 58,419 cases were reported in the previous 24 hours, taking the caseload to 29,881,965, according to the Union health ministry. Sunday’s cases are the lowest since March 30, when 56,211 people were detected Covid-19 positive.

As many as 1,576 succumbed to the viral disease in the 24-hour-span and 87,619 recovered, taking the death toll and total recoveries to 386,713 and 28,766,009, respectively. The daily recoveries continued to outnumber the new cases for the 38th consecutive day.

The active cases dipped to 729,243 and constitute 2.55% of the caseload.

Sunday’s case count is 2,334 less than that of Saturday’s when 60,753 infections were recorded. On the other hand, the deaths on Sunday are 71 less than that of Saturday’s when 1,647 people succumbed to the viral disease.

The cumulative Covid-19 testing figures stand at 391,019,083, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said on Sunday, adding 1,811,446 samples were tested in the previous 24 hours.

As the daily Covid-19 tally in India has been coming down since May 7, when the country saw a peak of over 414,000 cases, states and Union territories (UTs) have begun easing their lockdown or lockdown-like restrictions to revive their economies.

However, Union home secretary Ajay Bhalla on Saturday advised states and UTs to follow “calibrated” process carefully while opening up activities amid a fall in their cases.

“While opening up, it would be extremely important to follow the fivefold strategy of Covid appropriate behaviour, test-track-treat and vaccination. Regular monitoring of Covid appropriate behaviour is required to prevent relapse. To reiterate, Covid appropriate behaviour includes mandatory use of masks, hand hygiene, social distancing and also proper ventilation of closed spaces,” Bhalla said in a letter to states and UTs.

He also told chief secretaries of states and UTs to order all concerned authorities to ensure that Covid-19 testing rate does not fall and a close watch should be kept on early signs of a surge in active cases or higher positivity rates.

Telangana, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh became the latest states who have further eased Covid-19 related restrictions. Telangana is completely lifting its lockdown from today amid an improvement in the overall situation but the state government urged residents to not lower their guard against Covid-19.

In Karnataka, the lockdown-like restrictions have been eased in 16 districts including the capital city of Bengaluru. As per the new guidelines, restaurants can open at 50% capacity in these 16 districts and shops can remain open till 5pm. Government and private offices can function with 50% capacity.

The Uttar Pradesh government, meanwhile, relaxed the night curfew by two hours from Monday, allowing opening of shops, malls and restaurants till 9pm on weekdays. The curfew will now be from 9pm to 7am.

Source: Hindustan Times