India’s daily COVID-19 death toll falls below 600

By Ahmad Adil

NEW DELHI (AA) - India's daily coronavirus death toll has fallen below 600 and the country registered 34,703 cases in the last 24 hours, the lowest in 111 days, the Health Ministry said Tuesday.

According to the ministry, with 553 deaths, the country’s total number of fatalities stands at 403,281, while the cumulative number of infections has reached 30.6 million.

"India's active caseload declines to 464,357; lowest in 101 days. Active cases constitute 1.52% of total cases," a ministry statement said, adding 51,864 patients also recovered during the last 24 hours.

There has been a countrywide decline in cases and deaths after the devastating second wave of the pandemic in May. During the second wave, daily cases and deaths crossed 400,000 and 4,500 respectively.

In the ongoing vaccination drive, the country has so far administered over 350 million vaccine doses.

Indian Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said Monday that the government is committed to inoculating the entire adult population by December 2021.

Currently, four vaccines have been approved by the authorities for use in the country.

India has the second-highest number of coronavirus cases in the world after the US. The country stands third behind the US and Brazil in terms of deaths.