Active Covid-19 Cases In India Drop Below 1 Lakh For First Time After 547 Days

India saw a modest increase in the daily infection total on 1 December, with 8,954 new Covid-19 cases recorded across the country, up from 6,990 cases the day before.

But at the same time, according to the Union health ministry, after 547 days, the active caseload fell below 100,000.

The active caseload fell by 1,520 cases to 99,023, according to the data. The ministry said in a statement: “Active cases account for less than 1 per cent of total cases, currently at 0.29 per cent; Lowest since March 2020.”

Meanwhile, as per the data, in the last 24 hours, 267 people have died as a result of Covid-19, which is higher than the 190 deaths reported on 30 November. The overall number of confirmed infections is 34,596,776 people, with 469,247 fatalities.

While there is a growing concern among the authorities regarding the Omicron variant — which led to the introduction of tougher international arrival guidelines — in India, the daily recovery rates remained greater than the daily infections rates.

The Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) reported that medical staff in the country tested 1,108,467 samples for the disease in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of samples tested to 642,412,315.

In terms of immunizations, the total number of doses given out as part of the country's vaccination campaign surpassed 1.24 billion, as per the ministry.

It also said: “With the administration of 80,98,716 vaccine doses in the last 24 hours, India’s Covid-19 vaccination coverage has exceeded 124.10 crore (1,24,10,86,850) as per provisional reports till 7 am today [1 December].”

Even though in the country, based on the data, it is understood that the Covid-19 situation is under control, the Omicron variant might cause a new wave, if not checked. However, the Union government has already instructed states and Union territories to increase Covid testing and vaccination.

It has also prolonged Covid-19 containment measures until December 31 in order to prevent the virus from spreading further.