India records 45,892 new COVID-19 cases, 817 deaths

New Delhi: India recorded a single-day rise of 45,892 new COVID-19 cases, taking its infection tally to 3,07,09,557, while the count of active cases increased slightly to 4,60,704 after being on a consistent downward trend for nearly 55 days, according to the Union Health Ministry on Thursday.

The death toll has climbed to 4,05,028 with 817 new fatalities being reported.

The number of active cases comprises 1.50 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate stands at 97.18 per cent, data updated by the ministry at 8 am showed.

An increase of 784 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours, it showed.

Also, 18,93,800 COVID-19 tests were conducted in the country on Wednesday, taking the total number of such examinations so far to 42,52,25,897, while the daily positivity rate was recorded at 2.42 per cent. It has been less than three per cent for 17 consecutive days, the ministry said.

The weekly positivity rate has declined to 2.37 per cent, according to the health ministry.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 2,98,43,825, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.32 per cent, the data stated.

The total number of vaccine doses administered so far has reached 36.48 crore under the nationwide vaccination drive.

India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7 last year, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5, 50 lakh on September 16, 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and one crore on December 19.

India crossed the grim milestone of two crore infections on May 4 and three crore on June 23.

The 817 new fatalities include 326 from Maharashtra, 148 from Kerala and 75 from Karnataka.

A total of 4,05,028 deaths have been reported so far in the country. This includes 1,23,857 from Maharashtra, 35,601 from Karnataka, 33,196 from Tamil Nadu, 25,005 from Delhi, 22,666 from Uttar Pradesh, 17,850 from West Bengal and 16,141 from Punjab.

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.