India records 22,065 new infections, lowest daily count in over 5 months; tally over 99.06 lakh

India’s daily COVID-19 case count fell below 23,000 after a little over five months, while the national recovery rate stood at over 95 percent, said the Union health ministry on Tuesday. The coronavirus caseload mounted to 99,06,165 with 22,065 infections being reported in a day, while the toll rose to 1,43,709 with 354 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed. The number of people who have recuperated from the coronavirus infection surged to 94,22,636 pushing the national recovery rate to 95.12 percent, while the COVID-19 case fatality rate stood at 1.45 percent. The active COVID-19 caseload remained below four lakh for the eighth consecutive day on Tuesday. “There are 3,39,820 active coronavirus infections in the country which constitute 3.43 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, 80 lakh on 29 October and 90 lakh on 20 November. According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), more than 15.55 crore samples have been tested up to 14 December, of which 9,93,665 were conducted on Monday alone. The 354 new fatalities include 60 each from Delhi and Maharashtra, 43 from West Bengal, 24 from Kerala and 21 from Punjab. Total 1,43,709 deaths reported so far in the country include 48,269 from Maharashtra, 11,954 from Karnataka, 11,909 from Tamil Nadu, 10,074 from Delhi, 9,100 from West Bengal, 8,083 from Uttar Pradesh, 7,059 from Andhra Pradesh, and 5,098 from Punjab. 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.