India reports less than 4,000 Covid-19 deaths after 3 days; new cases dip with 3.26 lakh infections

India on Saturday reported 3,26,098 new Covid-19 cases and deaths, according to the latest update by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The country reported less than 4,000 deaths after three days.

The country's total Covid-19 case tally stands at 2,43,72,907, while the toll is 2,66,207.

The active case tally in India is 36,73,802, and 2,04,32,898 people have been discharged so far.

Active Covid-19 cases across the country have been hovering around the 37 lakh mark for the past one week, an early indication of plateauing of the second wave.

The number of patients recovering from Covid-19 too has been in the range of 3.5 lakh every day for the past six days. The highest recoveries in a single day – 3,86,444 – were reported on May 9. Though the number has dipped slightly over the next few days, India had reported more recoveries than fresh cases on Friday.

“The second wave peaked by last weekend – May 6-7 – but that does not bring immediate good news. Daily numbers will be over three lakhs for days and then over two lakhs for days and over one lakh for days and then will drop to about 20,000 by June end. So, the epidemic is continuing,” T Jacob John, eminent virologist of Christian Medical College, Vellore, told DH.

In Geneva, the World Health Organization's chief said the second year of the pandemic was set to be more deadly than the first, with India a huge concern.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus's remarks to an online meeting on Friday came after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi sounded the alarm over the rapid spread of the disease through the vast countryside.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said his country would accelerate its vaccination programme, to try to contain a fast-spreading Indian variant that could knock off-track the re-opening of Britain's economy.

Johnson's comments came soon after India accepted a government panel's recommendation for a longer gap of 12 to 16 weeks between the first and second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, from six to eight weeks now.

Cases have fallen steadily in states hit by an initial surge in infections, such as Maharastra and Delhi after they imposed stringent lockdowns.

But West Bengal, which held elections recently, experienced its biggest single-day spike, suggesting a fall in the overall caseload may take a while.

Infections in Gujarat fell below 10,000 after four straight weeks but officials warned against any relaxation in curbs until they return to levels seen before the breakout of India's second wave in mid-February.

(With inputs from Reuters)