India Coronavirus Dispatch: Cases retreat to lowest in 44 days

Spread of variant first detected in India stokes racism fears, financial aid for 67 families of scribes who died of Covid, and more-news relevant to the fight against the pandemic

Over 186,000 fresh cases reported

India reported 186,364 fresh coronavirus infections on Friday, taking the cumulative caseload to 27.5 million, according to central health ministry data. This is the lowest daily rise in cases in 44 days. The country saw 3,660 deaths due to the pandemic, taking the death toll to 318,895. The active caseload is at 2.3 million, while the total recoveries have surged to 24.9 million. As many as 205 million shots have been administered since the nationwide inoculation programme kicked off on January 16. Of these, 2.9 million were given on Thursday. Read more

Lung damage