Active Covid-19 cases dip below 4 lakh for the first time in over four months, daily deaths below 400 after 150 days

For the first time in four and a half months, the number of active Covid-19 cases in India dropped below four lakh as the declining trend in fresh cases continues.

According to the Union Health Ministry, India reported 3,96,729 lakh active cases on Monday. This is the lowest such number since July 20 when the number of active cases was pegged at less than four lakh – 3,90,459 to be exact - last time before shooting upwards.

The daily fatalities also fell below 400 on Monday after more than five months as there are no signs of the second peak yet.

391 Covid-19 deaths were reported in the past 24 hours with Delhi seeing the maximum casualties (69) followed by West Bengal (46) and Maharashtra (40). The dip is very sharp in Maharashtra that was reporting an excess of 100 Covid-19 deaths not so long ago.

“The drop in cases and deaths compared to the daily trends over the last 4-5 months is definitely a sign of relief. With the daily cases in the 30,000 and deaths in the 400-range, it’s more of a plateau at relatively lower levels. The first wave hasn’t rocked the bottom yet. Good news is that testing numbers are all right at the national level,” said Giridhar Babu, an epidemiologist at the Public Health Foundation of India,

"But it is definitely not a time for celebration. A syndromic approach needs to be followed by tailoring the testing strategy to pick areas of transmission with a special focus on rural areas.”

Not everyone, however, is convinced with such good news because the numbers are neither matching the reality nor any scientific logic.

"I am surprised why numbers have not picked up in north India after Diwali and Bihar elections. States like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar that account for 22-23% of tests nationally, report very few positive cases. I am not sure whether the surveillance is adequate in those states or whether the tests are being deployed at sites that really matter,” health economist Rijo John, a consultant to the World Health Organization and a visiting faculty to the Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode told DH.