India reported 26,041 fresh COVID-19 cases and 276 deaths in the last 24 hours. Data from the Union Health Ministry on Monday morning indicates that , 29,621 people recovered from the virus during this time. With this, the total number of active cases has dropped below the 3 lakh mark for the first time in more than six months.
While Kerala continues to remain the only state with an active tally well above the one lakh mark, recent data indicates a slight downward trend. Cases have however risen in some of the northeastern states, with Mizoram seeing up to 1000 cases per day last week and many children being affected. As per Health Ministry data on Monday however, there has been a downward trend since then.
Despite earlier warnings about a possible third wave peaking in the month of October and a slight fluctuation in numbers from some areas, India's COVID-19 situation seems to be improving day by day. Many experts now contend that the country is headed towards an 'endemic stage' ever as others insist that it has already entered this phase.
Against this backdrop, the Nationwide Vaccination Drive continues to gain momentum with 86.01 crore doses having been administered thus far. As per the CoWIN dashboard, 22,58,07,873 people have been fully vaccinated till Monday morning.