The daily count of fresh Covid-19 in India fell to a six-month low of 18,795 in the last 24 hours with Kerala accounting for over 62% of the total, according to data released by the health ministry on Tuesday.

This is for the first time since March 11 that the number of new coronavirus cases have declined below the 20,000 mark.  It is also a sharp drop from the 26,041 cases reported on Monday. 

The country also reported 179 deaths down from 276 reported a day ago.

Kerala continues to record the highest number of fresh cases in the country although the count has come down to 11,699 cases a day. The state also reported 58 deaths.

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With 1,657 fresh cases, Tamil Nadu is the second southern state after Kerala with a high daily caseload. It also reported 19 deaths.

With 1,846 cases, Mizoram leads the northeastern states in most number of new Covid cases in a day. The state also reported seven Covid deaths. It is followed by Assam, which reported 412 cases and eight Covid deaths.

Uttar Pradesh, the country’s most populous state, reported six Covid cases, while Delhi reported 32 cases. Both states reported zero Covid deaths.

Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar reported zero Covid deaths. Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand also reported zero Covid deaths.

India’s daily Covid-19 positivity rate – number of positive cases identified per 100 – stands at 1.42 per cent less than 3 per cent for last 29 days.

Experts are now veering around to the view that if the third wave strikes its intensity will be low.