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