India’s active coronavirus cases continued to decline with 24,712 fresh COVID-19 infections recorded in the past day with 312 deaths. The country’s cumulative Covid case count now stands at 1.01 crore with 1,46,756 deaths. The daily infections were 3 per cent higher than yesterday’s.
With an average of 20,000 cases a day, it took India – world’s only other country after US with more than a crore Covid cases – a week to add 1,23,778 fresh infections.
In this period, however, the country has consistently logged more recoveries than new infections taking its active cases down to 2.83 lakh – almost 3 per cent of the tally.
Despite the country’s success in being able to ensure a steady decline in Covid infections despite elections and festivals in November, many states have started imposing night travel restrictions for Christmas and New Year’s Eve.
While Karnataka, Maharashtra and Rajasthan have issued directives to this effect, administrations in many other states and Union Territories, including Chandigarh, are considering clamping recreational activities and large gatherings.
The restrictions also come in the backdrop of a new, more viral strain of the novel coronavirus in UK and now South Africa.