India records 22,890 new COVID-19 cases, 338 deaths; tally nears one crore mark

New Delhi: India’s COVID-19 caseload climbed to 99.79 lakh with 22,890 fresh infections being reported in a day, while total recoveries crossed the 95 lakh-mark, said the Union health ministry on Friday. With 338 more fatalities, the toll reached 1,44,789, while the total COVID-19 cases mounted to 99,79,447, the data updated at 8 am showed. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 95,20,827, pushing the national recovery rate to 95.40 percent. The COVID-19 case fatality rate stands at 1.45 percent. The COVID-19 active caseload remained below four lakh for the 12th consecutive day. There are 3,13,831 active cases in the country which comprise 3.14 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, crossed 80 lakh on 29 October, and surpassed 90 lakh on 20 November. According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 15,89,18,646 samples have been tested so far with 11,13,406 samples being tested on Thursday alone. The 338 new fatalities include 65 from Maharashtra, 44 from West Bengal, 35 from Delhi and 27 from Kerala. Total 1,44,789 deaths reported so far in the country include 48,499 from Maharashtra followed by 11,981 from Karnataka, 11,942 from Tamil Nadu, 10,182 from Delhi, 9,235 from West Bengal, 8,136 from Uttar Pradesh, 7,069 from Andhra Pradesh and 5,150 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.