New COVID-19 deaths, cases registered nearly 30% decline in October, says Centre

New Delhi: India’s COVID-19 caseload rose to 81.84 lakh with October registering a nearly 30 percent decline in both new deaths and cases as compared to September, while total recoveries surged to 74.91 lakh, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Sunday. The total coronavirus cases mounted to 81,84,082 with 46,963 new infections being reported in a day, while the death toll climbed to 1,22,111 with 470 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed. New infections due to COVID-19 have started to decline steadily since the first week of October. A total of 18,71,498 cases were reported in October, a decrease from last month’s 26,21,418, accounting for about 22.87 percent of the total instances of the viral infection reported in the country so far. The past month also saw 23,433 lives lost due to the disease, which is around 19.19 percent of the total 1,22,111 deaths recorded so far. A total of 74,91,513 people have recuperated from COVID-19 so far taking the national recovery rate to 91.54 percent while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.49 percent. The number of active cases of COVID-19 remained below 6 lakh for the third consecutive day. There are 5,70,458 active cases of coronavirus infection in the country as of date which comprises 6.97 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 5 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 ICMR, a cumulative total of 10,98,87,303 samples have been tested up to 31 October with 10,91,239 samples being tested on Saturday. The 470 new fatalities include 74 from Maharashtra, 63 from Chhattisgarh, 57 from West Bengal, 41 from Delhi, and 31 from Tamil Nadu. A total of 1,22,111 deaths have been reported so far in the country including 43,911 from Maharashtra followed by 11,168 from Karnataka, 11,122 from Tamil Nadu, 7,025 from Uttar Pradesh, 6,841 from West Bengal, 6,690 from Andhra Pradesh, 6,511 from Delhi, 4,203 from Punjab and 3,716 from Gujarat. The health ministry stressed that more than 70 percent 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.