India reports 2.59 lakh covid cases, lowest in one month

India on Friday reported 4,209 deaths, according to the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry, even as new cases dropped to its lowest at 2,59,551 in exactly a month.

Fresh Covid cases came down below the three lakh-mark for the first time on May 17 after touching record high of 4,14,188 on May 7.

India's overall tally of Covid-19 cases now stands at 2,60,31,991 with 30,27,925 active cases and 2,91,331 deaths so far.

According to the Health Ministry, a total of 3,57,295 people recuperated in the last 24 hours, with 2,27,12,735 being cured from Covid till date.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 32,44,17,870 samples have been tested up to May 20 for Covid-19. Of these 20,61,683 samples were tested on Thursday.

The Health Ministry said that a total of 19,18,79,503 people have been vaccinated so far in the country, including 14,82,754 who were administered vaccines in the last 24 hours.

Here's more updates:

* A Japanese government panel of experts approved two Covid-19 vaccines developed by US drug maker Moderna Inc. and the UK-based AstraZeneca Plc, with the Health Ministry expected to formalise the approval of the use of the two jabs on Friday.

*The European Union (EU) has signed a third contract with pharmaceutical companies BioNTech and Pfizer, securing an additional 1.8 billion Covid-19 vaccine doses between the end of 2021 and 2023.

*The number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in Africa has reached 4,709,921 as of Wednesday evening, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.

*Bharat Biotech on Thursday announced the quick ramp up of additional manufacturing capacities for Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin by an additional 200 million.

Meanwhile, the overall global Covid-19 caseload has topped 165.2 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 3.42 million, according to the Johns Hopkins University.