The United States reported the lowest number of new Covid-19 cases in nearly a year for the week ended May 23, with new infections dropping 26 percent from the previous seven days to just under 180,000, according to a Reuters analysis of state and county data.

More than 166.46 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 3,587,382​ have died, according to a Reuters tally.

New Delhi will start relaxing its strict coronavirus lockdown next week if new cases continue to drop in the city, the chief minister of India’s capital said on May 23.

At least 6-8 million people may have died due to the Covid-19 pandemic so far versus the World Health Organization’s official toll of around 3.4 million, a WHO official said on May 21.

U.S. deaths from Covid-19 for the week ended May 16 fell to their lowest in nearly 14 months and the number of new cases continued to decline for a fifth week in a row, according to a Reuters analysis of state and county data.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi sounded the alarm over the rapid spread of Covid-19 through India’s vast countryside on May 14, as 4,000 people died from the virus for the third straight day and total infections crossed 24 million.

Nearly 40 percent of all global deaths from Covid-19 reported last week happened in the Americas, and nearly 80 percent of the region’s intensive care units are filled with Covid-19 patients, the Pan American Health Organization said on May 12.

India’s coronavirus crisis showed scant sign of easing on May 11, with a seven-day average of new cases at a record high and international health authorities warning the country’s variant of the virus poses a global concern.

Indian coronavirus infections and deaths held close to record daily highs on May 10, increasing calls for the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lock down the world’s second-most populous country.

India on May 8 reported a record one-day rise in Covid-19 deaths as cases surged by more than 400,000 for the third consecutive day.