India records around 100,000 new COVID-19 cases, lowest in 2 months

By Shuriah Niazi

NEW DELHI (AA) - India registered 100,636 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, the lowest daily spike in two months, the Health Ministry said on Monday.

The total case tally has reached almost 29 million in the country, while the nationwide death toll stands at 349,186 with 2,427 new fatalities, according to official figures.

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) will start screening children in the national capital Delhi for clinical trials of COVID-19 vaccine made by Bharat Biotech. The AIIMS Patna has started the trials recently on children aged between 12 and 18 years.

Experts warned that a third wave is expected to impact children the most. India is gearing up to avoid recurrence of the monstrous second wave.

Meanwhile, Delhi is set to start relaxing coronavirus restrictions from Monday. The city subway will operate at 50% capacity and shops will open on an odd-even basis in the city. Delhi has been under a strict lockdown since April 19 to stem the spread of the virus during the second wave of the outbreak.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday asked people to follow COVID-19 rules as the easing process began in the city.

“Many activities are resuming in Delhi from today. But take all the precautions to prevent coronavirus completely – wear a mask, keep social distance, and keep washing hands, there should be no laxity at all," Kejriwal said on Twitter.