India's COVID-19 caseload goes past 70-lakh mark

New Delhi: India’s COVID-19 caseload sprinted past the 70-lakh mark on Saturday night, while the total number of recoveries too crossed 60 lakh, according to data from states and union territories.

Union health ministry data updated on Saturday 8 am showed a single-day spike of 73,272 infections, taking the country’s COVID-19 tally of cases to 69,79,423, while the death toll climbed to 1,07,416 with 926 people succumbing to the disease in a day.

However, by night, a PTI tally showed India’s COVID-19 caseload at 70,43,143, death toll at 1,08,286, and recoveries at 60,66,031. The tally has been compiled as per information provided by the states and union territories.

India is in pole position in terms of the number of recovered cases of coronavirus followed by Brazil and the US, according to the Johns Hopkins University (JHU), which has been compiling COVID-19 data from all over the world.

India is the second worst-hit nation in terms of COVID-19 cases after the US, while it is in the third spot in terms of fatalities globally after the US and Brazil, according to JHU data.

There are 8,83,185 active cases of coronavirus infection in the country which comprises 12.65 percent of the total caseload, the data stated.