New Delhi:
India's COVID-19 tally sprinted past 59 lakh on Saturday with 85,362 fresh cases being recorded in a day, while 93,420 people recuperated from the disease during the same period taking total recoveries to over 48 lakh, according to the Union Health Ministry data.
The data updated at 8 am on Saturday showed that the coronavirus caseload has risen to 59,03,932 with 85,362 infections being reported in a day, while the death toll mounted to 93,379 after 1,089 people succumbed to the disease in 24 hours.
Total recoveries surged to 48,49,584, pushing the country's recovery rate to 82.14 per cent. The COVID-19 case fatality rate was recorded at 1.58 per cent.
There are 9,60,969 active cases in the country which comprise 16.28 per cent of the total caseload, the data showed.
India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and it went past 50 lakh on September 16.
Of the 85,362 new coronavirus cases reported in India in a day, 75 per cent are found concentrated in 10 states and Union Territories, the Union Health Ministry said on Saturday. It also said India has conducted a total of seven crore tests for the detection of coronavirus infection till now with the country's testing capacity having crossed 14 lakh tests daily.
According to the ICMR, in total 7,02,69,975 samples have been tested up to September 25, with 13,41,535 being tested on Friday.
The new fatalities include 416 from Maharashtra, 86 from Karnataka, 84 from Uttar Pradesh, 72 from Tamil Nadu, 68 from Punjab, 59 from West Bengal, 48 from Andhra Pradesh, 30 from Madhya Pradesh, 25 from Chhattisgarh and 24 from Delhi.
Total 93,379 deaths reported so far in the country includes 34,761 from Maharashtra followed by 9,148 from Tamil Nadu, 8,417 from Karnataka, 5,606 from Andhra Pradesh, 5,450 from Uttar Pradesh, 5,147 from Delhi, 4,665 from West Bengal, 3,393 from Gujarat, 3,134 from Punjab and 2,152 from Madhya Pradesh.
The health ministry stressed that over 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.
The 10 states and Union Territories from where 75 per cent of the new cases have been reported are Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Delhi, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh. Maharashtra continues to top this list by accounting for more than 17,000 cases. Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh reported more than 8,000 and 7,000 cases respectively, the ministry said.Also, Maharashtra, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi and Chhattisgarh account for 83 per cent of the 1,089 deaths due to COVID-19 registered in a day. Maharashtra reported 416 deaths in a 24-hour period, followed by Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh with 86 and 84 fatalities, respectively.
"Seventeen states and UTs have cases per million lower than the national average (4,278) while 23 are reporting deaths per million lower than the national average (68)," the health ministry said. Asserting that India has substantially ramped up its testing infrastructure, it said as on date, there are 1,823 laboratories, including 1,086 government and 737 private ones.
India's testing capacity has surged to cross 14 lakhs per day, the ministry said. A total of 7,02,69,975 COVID-19 tests have been conducted across the country so far, with 13,41,535 of them were carried out on Friday, showed the data provided by the Centre.
"A high level of testing leads to early identification of the positive cases. As evidence has revealed, eventually the positivity rate will fall when combined with higher testing. "The national cumulative positivity rate is 8.40 per cent and tests per million is presently positioned at 50,920," the ministry said.