A steady decline in daily new COVID-19 cases has been observed since the last 17 days in India, the Union health ministry said on Monday.

It said there has been 2.6 times increase in the number of Covid tests done in the past 15 weeks in the country along with a steady dip in the weekly positivity rate reported in the last two weeks.

Talking about the effect of the pandemic on children and young people, AIIMS, Delhi director Randeep Guleria noted, Children suffered collateral damage due to mental stress, smartphone addiction and education challenges amid the ongoing pandemic.

The ministry added that there is no indication as of now that children will be severely affected in the third wave of COVID-19.