India records 13,083 COVID-19 cases in past 24 hours; active cases remain below 1.70 lakh

New Delhi: With 13,083 fresh COVID-19 infections being registered in the past 24 hours, India’s caseload has gone up to 1,07,33,131, said the Union health ministry on Saturday. The national recovery rate reached 96.98 percent after 1,04,09,160 more patients recuperated  from the novel coronavirus, the data updated at 8 am showed. The viral disease has claimed 137 more lives in the country in a span of 24 hours and the toll now stands at 1,54,147, it added. There are 1,69,824 active coronavirus cases in the country currently, which account for 1.58 percent of the total number of cases. The COVID-19 case fatality rate stood at 1.44 percent, it stated. India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on 7 August, 30 lakh on 23 August, 40 lakh on 5 September and 50 lakh on 16 September. It went past 60 lakh on 28 September, 70 lakh on 11 October, crossed 80 lakh on 29 October, 90 lakh on 20 November and surpassed the one-crore mark on 19 December. According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a total of 19,58,37,408 samples have so far been tested for the viral disease across the country, including 7,56,329 on Friday.