India’s Covid caseload crosses 73.7 lakh with 63,371 new infections in a day

While active Coronavirus cases in India remained below 9 lakh for the eighth consecutive days, the death toll has surged to 1,12,161, according to the health ministry data.

A health worker collects swab sample for coronavirus test at a mobile testing van | Representational image | Suraj Singh Bisht | ThePrint

New Delhi: India’s COVID-19 caseload rose to 73,70,468 with 63,371 new infections being reported in a day, while the number of people who have recuperated from the disease crossed 64 lakh, according to the Health Ministry data updated on Friday.

The recovery rate stands at 87.56 per cent.

The coronavirus death toll climbed to 1,12,161 with the virus claiming 895 lives in a span of 24 hours, the data updated at 8 am showed.

For eight days in a row, the active cases of COVID-19 remained below 9 lakh.

There are 8,04,528 active cases of coronavirus infection in the country which comprises 10.92 per cent of the total caseload, while the recoveries have surged to 64,53,779, the data stated.

The COVID-19 case fatality rate due COVID-19 was recorded at 1.52 per cent.

“India continues to have one of the lowest COVID-19 deaths per million population globally, currently pegged at 80,” the ministry said.

India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23 and 40 lakh on September 5. It went past 50 lakh on September 16, 60 lakh on September 28 and crossed 70 lakh on October 11.

According to the ICMR, a cumulative total of 9,22,54,927 samples have been tested up to October 15, with 10,28,622 samples being tested on Thursday.

The 895 new fatalities include 337 from Maharashtra, 85 from Karnataka, 62 from West Bengal, 49 from Tamil Nadu, 46 from Chhattisgarh,38 from Andhra Pradesh, 36 from Uttar Pradesh, 29 from Punjab, 27 from Odisha and 26 from Delhi.

A total of 1,12,161 deaths have been reported so far in the country, including 41,196 from Maharashtra followed by 10,472 from Tamil Nadu, 10,283 from Karnataka, 6,543 from Uttar Pradesh, 6,357 from Andhra Pradesh, 5,924 from Delhi, 5,870 from West Bengal, 3,954 from Punjab and 3,606 from Gujarat.

The health ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.

“Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research,” the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.