<p id="thickbox_headline">India’s Covid count dropped below 100,000 on Monday after a gap of 31 days, providing yet another signal of an ebbing third wave as the experts advocate a return to the normalcy.</p>.<div><div dir="ltr"><p>According to the Union Health Ministry, there were 83,876 new cases registered in the last 24 hours (Sunday). This is for the first time since January 5 when the number of new cases was less than a lakh.</p><p>The peak of the third wave was seen on January 20 with more than 3.47 lakh fresh cases. Since then it has been a steady decline.</p><p>“From multiple modeling studies, we understand that the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic across India was expected between Jan 20 and Feb 10, with major cities peaking towards the earlier date. What we are seeing is consistent with that trend,” Gautam Menon, a professor of physics and biology at the Ashoka University, Sonipat told <em>DH</em>.</p><p>The number of districts with a weekly test positivity of more than 10% has also dipped to 221 on Monday from 388 as of January 30. The number of districts with a positivity between 5-10% stands at 165, whereas the number of districts with less than 5% positivity swells up to 347.</p><p>“The trends overall suggest that across India, Feb 10 or a bit later would be a good time to consider reopening and a return to some semblance of normalcy across the country,” said Menon.</p><p>Last month the Union Home Ministry extended the validity of the Covid-19 containment measures till February 28 asking the states not to lower their guards. However, when the order was issued (on Jan 27), more than 10% positivity was reported from 407 districts.</p><p>“While it's reassuring that the number of new cases are decreasing, it would be critical to ensure that there is no complacency of public health preparedness,” said Oommen John, a senior public health researcher at the George Institute for Global Health, here.</p><p>“We need to aim for a new normal, wherein anyone who is at risk of complications due to Covid-19 and particularly those experiences new onset illnesses as a result of Covid-19 are diagnosed correctly and managed as per evolving guidelines for Long Covid,” he said.</p></div></div>.<p><strong>Watch the latest DH Videos here:</strong></p>
<p id="thickbox_headline">India’s Covid count dropped below 100,000 on Monday after a gap of 31 days, providing yet another signal of an ebbing third wave as the experts advocate a return to the normalcy.</p>.<div><div dir="ltr"><p>According to the Union Health Ministry, there were 83,876 new cases registered in the last 24 hours (Sunday). This is for the first time since January 5 when the number of new cases was less than a lakh.</p><p>The peak of the third wave was seen on January 20 with more than 3.47 lakh fresh cases. Since then it has been a steady decline.</p><p>“From multiple modeling studies, we understand that the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic across India was expected between Jan 20 and Feb 10, with major cities peaking towards the earlier date. What we are seeing is consistent with that trend,” Gautam Menon, a professor of physics and biology at the Ashoka University, Sonipat told <em>DH</em>.</p><p>The number of districts with a weekly test positivity of more than 10% has also dipped to 221 on Monday from 388 as of January 30. The number of districts with a positivity between 5-10% stands at 165, whereas the number of districts with less than 5% positivity swells up to 347.</p><p>“The trends overall suggest that across India, Feb 10 or a bit later would be a good time to consider reopening and a return to some semblance of normalcy across the country,” said Menon.</p><p>Last month the Union Home Ministry extended the validity of the Covid-19 containment measures till February 28 asking the states not to lower their guards. However, when the order was issued (on Jan 27), more than 10% positivity was reported from 407 districts.</p><p>“While it's reassuring that the number of new cases are decreasing, it would be critical to ensure that there is no complacency of public health preparedness,” said Oommen John, a senior public health researcher at the George Institute for Global Health, here.</p><p>“We need to aim for a new normal, wherein anyone who is at risk of complications due to Covid-19 and particularly those experiences new onset illnesses as a result of Covid-19 are diagnosed correctly and managed as per evolving guidelines for Long Covid,” he said.</p></div></div>.<p><strong>Watch the latest DH Videos here:</strong></p>
