Trend of downswing in Covid cases may hold even if curbs are eased: Govt

A steady decline in new Covid cases has been recorded in India for the last 20 days, says govt

A steady decline in new COVID-19 cases has been recorded in India for the last 20 days, with 24 states witnessing a dip in active cases since the last week, the Union health ministry said on Thursday.

It also noted that the country is on a downswing of the second wave of COVID-19.

We are on a downswing of the second wave of COVID-19 and believe that it will be sustained even when restrictions are significantly relaxed, said NITI Aayog member V K Paul. 

A steady decline in new COVID-19 cases has been recorded in India for the last 20 days. Twenty-four states have also reported decline in active COVID-19 cases since the last week, it said.

The ministry also said that while COVID-19 testing has increased manifold, a steady decline in weekly COVID-19 positivity rate has been seen since the last three weeks.

On possible adverse effects of taking the second dose of a different Covid vaccine, it said, If second dose of a different Covid vaccine is taken, any significant adverse effect is unlikely, but we need more scrutiny and understanding in this regard.

The Centre also termed a recent report by the New York Times (NYT) on the estimated COVID-19 death toll in India as completely baseless and false.

The NYT report is not backed by any evidence and based on distorted estimates, it added.