India reports lowest number of fresh daily Covid-19 cases in a month

On Monday, 903 fresh Covid-19 deaths were reported, as the overall toll rose to 1,03,622

Published on: Oct 6, 2020, 09:34:31 IST

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | By Rhythma Kaul

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The country reported the lowest number of new coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases in at least a month, as 59,980 new infections were reported on Monday.

India has reported 6,681,937 Covid-19 cases to date, according to the data collated by HT’s dashboard.

On Monday, 903 fresh Covid-19 deaths were reported, as the overall toll rose to 1,03,622.

India had reported the first death due to the viral infection on March 12.

Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s (MoH&FW) data showed that the country’s Covid-19 caseload has remained under one million.

Also Read: India maintains below 10% Covid-19 positivity rate: Govt

The number of active cases is indicative of the national burden due to the viral infection.

On Monday, around one million (m) tests were conducted, as the cumulative tally reached around 80 m.

On January 23, when the first Covid-19 test was conducted in the country, India had a single laboratory, Indian Council of Medical Research’s (ICMR) National Institute of Virology in Pune.

The Pune facility was only equipped to conduct Covid-19 tests, using the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technology.

By April 1, 151 laboratories were approved by the ICMR authorities, whose count gradually went up to 254, 676, and 1,206 in May, June and July, respectively.

At present, there are 1,874 laboratories, run by both government and private entities, which are approved by ICMR to conduct Covid-19 tests.

In March, the country was testing 10,000 swab samples a day. Now, it has the capacity to conduct up to 1.5 million tests a day.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rhythma Kaul
Rhythma Kaul is the national health editor of the Hindustan Times. She has been reporting on public health, medicine, and medical research, with a particular focus on how government decisions and health system reforms shape people’s lives. Rhythma has over 25 years of journalistic experience. She joined Hindustan Times in 2008, and has since covered everything from pandemics and infectious diseases to cutting‑edge medical research and climate‑related health challenges. Her stories routinely track the work of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, department of pharmaceuticals, and key national health programmes, making complex medical science and policy accessible to a wide audience. One of her prominent news breaks has been the 2012 Baby Falak case: A two-year-old brutally battered baby girl was admitted to AIIMS-Delhi with severe head injuries, multiple fractures, human bite marks, and burns. The police investigation revealed this to be a case of multi-state human-trafficking racket. She was profiled by The Wall Street Journal for breaking this story. Rhythma holds a Master’s degree from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi. Prior to Hindustan Times, she worked with the India Today Group. Rhythma can be contacted at rhythma.kaul@hindustantimes.com. Her X handle is @RamblingBrook.Read More

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