India records 25,072 new COVID-19 cases in 24 hours, lowest in 160 days

The country also saw 44,157 recoveries and 389 deaths in the last 24 hours.

New Delhi: India saw its lowest single-day rise in 160 days and recorded 25,072 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Monday (August 23, 2021). India's active caseload has now also declined to its lowest in 155 days and currently stands at 3,33,924. The health ministry said that the active cases account for 1.03% of total cases, which, notably, is the lowest since March 2020.

There were also 44,157 recoveries and 389 deaths in the last 24 hours. With this, the total number of COVID-19 cases in the country has increased to 3,24,49,306, of which, 3,16,80,626 have recovered while 4,34,756 have died.

Also, 12,95,160 coronavirus tests were conducted on Sunday, taking the cumulative tests conducted so far to 50,75,51,399. According to the health ministry, the daily positivity rate is now at 1.94 per cent and has been less than 3 per cent for the last 28 days, while the weekly positivity rate stands at 1.91 per cent and has been below 3 per cent for the last 59 days.

This is to be noted that India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the one-crore mark on December 19, 2020, two crore on May 4 and three crore on June 23.

On the other hand, the overall vaccination coverage has increased to 58.25 crores. 

Meanwhile, a Home Ministry panel of experts has warned the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) that there is a looming threat of the third wave of COVID-19 that could peak around October. The committee of experts constituted under the National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) has also said that the third wave will affect children who might be prone to similar risks as elders.

The expert panel, while highlighting that the paediatric facilities across the country to deal with such situations are inadequate, also called for ramping up the medical infrastructure and boosting healthcare facilities.