India records 16,946 new COVID-19 infections, 198 deaths in past 24 hrs; over 1.05 cr cases so far

New Delhi: India’s COVID-19 caseload increased to 1,05,12,093 after 16,946 fresh infections were registered in the past 24 hours, said the Union health ministry on Thursday. The toll has further climbed to 1,51,727 with 198 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed. The number of people who have recuperated from the novel coronavirus has surged to 1,01,46,763, pushing the national COVID-19 recovery rate to 96.52 percent, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.44 percent. The COVID-19 active caseload remained below three lakh. There are 2,13,603 active coronavirus infections in the country which comprise 2.03 percent of the total caseload, the data stated. India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed 20 lakh 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), 18,42,32,305 COVID-19 samples have been tested up to 14 January with 7,43,191 samples being tested on Wednesday alone.