India’s daily count of fresh Covid-19 cases falls as lockdowns slow wave

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India's daily count of fresh Covid-19 cases dropped below the 3 lakh-mark for the first time since April 21 as the lockdowns in various states have succeeded in slowing the transmission of the deadly disease.</p>
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Offficial figures updated till Monday morning showed that 2.81 lakh new cases of coronavirus infections were recorded in the last 24 hours while  4,106 Covid patients have died during this period.</p>
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Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh have extended restrictions to check the spread of Covid. While Delhi is witnessing a recovery after reporting over 25,000 daily cases earlier this month, Punjab says it's still awaiting a drop in the cases.</p>
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The government has shared new standard operating procedures (SOPs) to contain the spread of the disease in rural areas, which have been hit hard by the second wave of Covid. Village-level surveillance, tele-consultation with community health officers, and training in rapid antigen testing are among the several areas of focus.</p>
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The country has stepped up the vaccination campaign against the devastating disease.  India has so far administered over 18 crore shots to people in the 45 plus age group as well as healthcare and frontline workers. The vaccination drive has now been thrown open to all adults. </p>
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The number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in India will reach the 51.6 crore mark by the end of July as the inoculation drive has been stepped up , Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Saturday.</p>
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Health Minister Harsh Vardhan has also told the states that the present plateauing of COVID cases should not be taken as a sign for complacency but as a breathing space to expand, revamp and improve health infrastructure.</p>