Health

India records 8,865 Covid-19 cases, lowest in 9 months

New Delhi, Nov 16 (EFE).- India reported Tuesday 8,865 Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, the lowest in more than nine months, after the country of more than 1.35 billion people became the global epicenter of the pandemic in May.

The 8,865 positive cases are the lowest in the last 287 days, in stark contrast to the record of more than 400,000 cases a day recorded at the peak of the pandemic six months ago, according to the Indian Ministry of Health.

The South Asian country also recorded 197 deaths from Covid-19 in the last 24 hours.

According to official figures, there are currently 130,793 active cases of the coronavirus in the country, which is the lowest in 525 days.

So far, India has recorded a total of 34,456,401 confirmed cases – second only to the United States – and 463,852 deaths since the start of the pandemic last year.

Several experts have questioned the actual number of deaths from Covid-19 in India, suggesting that it is probably far higher than officially recorded, a claim that Indian health authorities have repeatedly rejected.

At the peak of the pandemic in May, the country recorded more than 400,000 cases and over 4,500 deaths on a daily basis, leaving the healthcare system on the brink of collapse and crematoriums overcrowded with bodies.

Experts expected the impact of a third wave between the months of September and October, however the daily cases have continued to decline.

Under the vaccination campaign, which is the government’s main hope for tackling the virus, India has administered 1.12 billion doses since it kicked off in January, with nearly 300 million people having already received both shots of the vaccine. EFE

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