India records 40,134 new COVID-19 cases, 422 deaths in 24 hours; recovery rate at 97.35%

New Delhi: India registered 40,134 fresh COVID-19 infections, pushing its virus tally to 3,16,95,958, while the number of active cases recorded an increase for the sixth consecutive day, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday. The death toll from the pandemic climbed to 4,24,773 with 422 daily fatalities. The number of active coronavirus cases has increased to 4,13,718 and comprises 1.31 percent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 97.35 percent, the data updated at 8 am showed. An increase of 2,766 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. Also, 14,28,984 tests were conducted on Sunday, taking the total cumulative tests conducted so far for detection of COVID-19 in the country to 46,96,45,494, while the daily positivity rate was recorded at 2.81 percent . The weekly positivity rate was recorded at  2.37 percent, according to the Health Ministry. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 3,08,57,467, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.34 percent, the data stated. Cumulative vaccine doses administered so far has reached 47.22 crore under the Nationwide Vaccination Drive. 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 one crore on 19 December. India crossed the grim milestone of 2 crore COVID-19 cases on 4 May and 3 crore on 23 June. The 422 new fatalities include 157 from Maharashtra, 64 from Odisha and 56 from Kerala. A total of 4,24,773 deaths linked to the disease have been reported so far in the country, including 1,32,948 from Maharashtra, 36,587 from Karnataka, 34,102 from Tamil Nadu, 25,054 from Delhi, 22,763 from Uttar Pradesh, 18,149 from West Bengal and 16,794 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.