Steady decline in cases for last 20 days: 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,” the ministry 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.”

Amid vaccine shortage reports from several states, the health Ministry said that more than 18.4 million Covid-19 vaccine doses are still available with states and Union Territories and they will receive over 1.1 million doses within the next three days. As part of the nationwide vaccination drive, the Centre has been supporting the states and UTS by providing them Covid-19 vaccines free of cost, it said. NEW DELHI: