October saw the first monthly fall in Covid-19 infections since the outbreak of the pandemic in the country, with both fresh cases and deaths declining by nearly 30% from the previous month’s figures. Fresh infections as well as fatalities from the virus have been steadily falling since mid-September, which is reflected in Covid-19 numbers in October. Around 18.3 lakh new cases were recorded during the month, down from 26.2 lakh in the month of September. In fact, October’s case count was lower than the numbers logged in August, when 19.9 lakh infections were reported, pointing to the dramatic fall in the coronavirus graph since mid-September. Covid-19 deaths have followed a similar trajectory. In October, a little less than 23,500 deaths were recorded, 29% less than the toll of 33,255 in September. As in the cases of fresh infections, October’s death toll was less than that recorded in August, when 28,859 people had succumbed to the virus across the country. Before October, Covid-19 cases as well as fatalities had shown a rise in each successive month since the outbreak of the pandemic in multiple regions of the country in March. On Saturday, 46,899 new cases were recorded, the lowest count in four days. The day’s death toll, at 468, was the lowest since July 5.