India’s COVID-19 infection tally crosses 74 lakh with 62,212 new cases

Team Udayavani, Oct 17, 2020, 10:28 AM IST

New Delhi: India’s COVID-19 caseload went past 74 lakh, while the number of people who have recuperated from the disease crossed 65 lakh pushing the recovery rate to 87.78 percent, according to data updated by the Union Health Ministry on Saturday.

The coronavirus death toll climbed to 1,12,998 with the virus claiming 837 lives in a day, while the infection tally mounted to 74,32,680 with 62,212 new cases being reported, the data updated at 8 am showed.

The active cases of coronavirus infection dropped below eight lakh for the first time in one-and-half months, the ministry said.

For nine days in a row the active cases remained below nine lakh.

There are 7,95,087 active cases of coronavirus infection in the country which comprises 10.70 per cent of the total caseload, while the recoveries have surged to 65,24,595, according to the data.

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

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 Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a cumulative total of 9,32,54,017 samples have been tested up to October 16 with 9,99,090 samples being tested on Friday.

The 837 new fatalities include 306 from Maharashtra, 73 from Karnataka, 61 from West Bengal, 57 from Tamil Nadu, 46 from Uttar Pradesh and 40 from Chhattisgarh.

Total 1,12,998 deaths reported so far in the country includes 41,502 from Maharashtra, followed by 10,529 from Tamil Nadu, 10,356 from Karnataka, 6,589 from Uttar Pradesh, 6,382 from Andhra Pradesh, 5,946 from Delhi, 5,931 from West Bengal, 3,980 from Punjab and 3,617 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.