India records 1,61,736 cases, 879 deaths in a day

New Delhi: A total of 1,61,736 new Coronavirus infections have been reported in a day pushing India's tally of cases to 1,36,89,453, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate dropped further to 89.51 per cent, according to data updated by the Union Health ministry on Monday.

The death toll increased to 1,71,058 with 879 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.

Registering a steady increase for the 34th day in a row, the number of active cases rose to 12,64,698, or 9.24 per cent of the total infections.

The active caseload was at its lowest at 1,35,926 on February 12, 2021, and it was at its highest at 10,17,754 on September 18, 2020.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,22,53,697, while the case fatality rate has dropped further to 1.25 per cent, the data stated.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 25,92,07,108 samples have been tested up to April 12, of which 14,00,122 were done on Monday.

A total of 1,71,058 deaths have been reported in the country so far, including 58,245 from Maharashtra, 12,941 from Karnataka, 12,927 from Tamil Nadu, 11,355 from Delhi, 10,414 from West Bengal, 9,224 from Uttar Pradesh, 7,559 from Punjab, and 7,311 from Andhra Pradesh.

Ten states — Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Kerala have shown a rise in the COVID-19 daily cases accounting for 80.80 per cent of the new infections reported in a day, the ministry said on Tuesday.

India's daily new cases continue to rise. A total of 1,61,736 new cases were registered in a span of 24 hours.

Maharashtra has reported the highest daily new cases at 51,751. It is followed by Uttar Pradesh with 13,604 while Chhattisgarh reported 13,576 new cases.

The five states of Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Kerala cumulatively account for 68.85 per cent of India's total Active Cases. Maharashtra alone accounts for 44.78 per cent of the total active caseload of the country.

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has gone into self-isolation after some of his staff tested positive. "Some officers of my office have tested positive for Covid-19. As a precaution, I have isolated myself," Adityanath tweeted. On Tuesday, Uttar Pradesh reported the highest-ever single-day spike of 18,021 Coronavirus cases while 85 fatalities took the death toll in the state to 9,309.

In a landmark achievement, the country's vaccination coverage crossed 11 crore doses on Tuesday till 8 pm. As per the Health ministry's provisional report, in a single day, 25,00,883 vaccine doses were given till 8 pm on the 88th day of the nationwide drive.

Given that Tuesday was the third day of Tika Utsav (vaccination festive), more than one crore vaccines have been administered in the last three days.

"The cumulative number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in the country stands at 11,10,33,925. India had reported 10,12,84,282 vaccination coverage on the 85th day of the vaccination drive on April 10," the ministry said, adding that 67,893 Covid Vaccination Centres (CVCs) were operational on Tuesday.