Coronavirus LIVE Updates: India logged in daily new cases less than 20,000 after 201 days.18,795 new cases were reported in the last 24 hours. A steady slowdown in the country has brought the number of active cases below the 3-lakh mark for the first time in six months. There has been a gradual decline in Kerala as well, with the daily count of cases below 20,000 for 10 days now. Over the last two weeks, active cases in the state have fallen from over 2 lakh to about 1.63 lakh. Kerala still accounts for about 55 percent of all active cases in the country, though.

India recorded its lowest number of daily Covid-19 cases in over 200 days. India’s Covid case count on Monday was just over 19,860. The last time the country had reported a lower number of daily cases was on March 9, 202 days ago. Deaths from the virus also fell to 178, the lowest daily toll since March 22. Kerala logged 11,699 fresh infections, the fewest in nearly five weeks.

Meanwhile, Pfizer is investigating an oral antiviral drug that could prevent Covid-19 infection the company announced on Monday, as scientists around the world work to develop new tools to fight Covid-19 and ease the burden on overwhelmed hospitals. The trial will test the safety and efficacy of the pill with ritonavir, another antiviral widely used to treat HIV. One-third of patients in the trial will receive a placebo, while the remainder will receive a dose of the drug twice a day for either five or 10 days.