'Covid situation worrisome across globe, India can't show laxity'

New Delhi: The Union Health ministry said on Tuesday that the Coronavirus situation was worrisome across the entire world and India could not show laxity despite witnessing a decline in cases.

Addressing a press briefing, Union health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said: "The Covid-19 situation is worrisome around the world; even though daily new cases are declining in India, we can't show laxity."

Bhushan pointed out that the infection graph was climbing in countries such as the United States (US), Brazil, Russia, United Kingdom (UK) and South Africa and that these countries had a population which was far less than that of India.

He added that the active cases in the country were declining steadily and remained below the 220,000-mark adding that Maharashtra and Kerala were the only states that saw over 50,000 active cases.

India recorded 12,584 new cases on Tuesday, the lowest in around seven months, taking the country's COVID-19 caseload to 1,04,79,179, according to the Union Health ministry data.

The death toll increased to 1,51,327 with 167 daily new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,01,11,294 pushing the national COVID-19 recovery rate to 96.49 per cent.

Meanwhile, lockdowns have been expanded and a major political conference postponed in a province next to Beijing that is the scene of China's most serious recent COVID-19 outbreak.