India's COVID-19 caseload climbs to 85 lakh with close to 46,000 new cases; toll now at 1.2 lakh

New Delhi: India’s COVID-19 caseload rose to 85,53,657 with 45,903 new infections being reported, while the number of people who have recuperated from the disease crossed 79 lakh, pushing the national recovery rate to 92.56 percent, according to the Union health ministry data updated on Monday. The toll from the disease climbed to 1,26,611 with 490 new fatalities being registered, the data updated at 8 am showed. The total number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 79,17,373, pushing the national recovery rate to 92.56 percent while the case fatality rate stands at 1.48 percent. The number of active cases of COVID-19 remained below 6 lakh for the 11th consecutive day. There are 5,09,673 active cases of the coronavirus infection in the country as of date which comprises 5.96 percent of the total caseload, the data stated. India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on 7 August, 30 lakh on 23 August and 40 lakh on September. It went past 50 lakh on 16 September, 60 lakh on 28 September, 70 lakh on 11 October, and crossed 80 lakh on 29 October. According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a cumulative total of 11,85,72,192 samples have been tested up to 8 November with 8,35,401 test being conducted on Sunday. The 490 new fatalities include 125 from Maharashtra, 77 from Delhi, 59 from West Bengal, 26 from Uttar Pradesh, 24 from Kerala, 22 from Karnataka, and 20 from Tamil Nadu. A total of 1,26,611 deaths have been reported so far in the country including 45,240 from Maharashtra, followed by 11,391 from Karnataka, 11,344 from Tamil Nadu, 7,294 from West Bengal, 7,206 from Uttar Pradesh, 6,989 from Delhi, 6,791 from Andhra Pradesh, 4,318 from Punjab and 3,760 from Gujarat. The Union health ministry stressed that more than 70 percent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities. “Our figures are being reconciled with the ICMR,” the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.