India logs 42,982 new coronavirus cases, 533 fresh fatalities, daily positivity rate at 2.58 percent

New Delhi: India added 42,982 new coronavirus infections in a single day taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 3,18,12,114, while the number of active cases increased to 4,11,076, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday. The death toll climbed to 4,26,290 with 533 fresh fatalities. The active cases comprise 1.29 percent of the total infections and the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 97.37 percent, the data updated at 8 am showed. An increase of 723 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. 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. India crossed the grim milestone of two crore on 4 May and three crore on 23 June. As many as 16,64,030 tests were conducted on August 4 taking the total cumulative tests conducted so far for detection of COVID-19 in the country to 47,48,93,363. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 2.58 percent and the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 2.37 percent, according to the ministry. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 3,09,74,748, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.34 percent, the data stated. Cumulative vaccine doses administered so far have reached 48.93 crore under the nationwide vaccination drive. The 533 new fatalities include 195 from Maharashtra and 108 from Kerala. A total of 4,26,290 deaths have been reported so far in the country including 1,33,410 from Maharashtra, 36,680 from Karnataka, 34,197 from Tamil Nadu, 25,058 from Delhi, 22,767 from Uttar Pradesh, 18,180 from West Bengal and 17,211 from Kerala. The 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.