India records 45,352 new coronavirus cases; more than half of 366 fresh fatalities from Kerala

New Delhi: With 45,352 people testing positive for coronavirus, India’s total tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 3,29,03,289, while active cases registered an increase for the third consecutive day, according to the Union health ministry data updated on Friday. The death toll climbed to 4,39,895 with 366 fresh fatalities, according to the data updated at 8 am. The active cases increased to 3,99,778 comprising 1.22 percent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 97.45 percent, the ministry said. An increase of 10,195 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. As many as 16,66,334 tests were conducted on Thursday taking the total cumulative tests conducted so far for detection of COVID-19 in the country to 52,65,35,068. The daily positivity rate was recorded 2.72 percent and the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 2.66 percent. It has been below three percent for the last 70 days, according to the ministry. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 3,20,63,616, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.34 percent, the data stated. A total of 67.09 crore vaccine doses have been administered so far under the nationwide vaccination drive. India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on 7 August , 2020, 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 11, 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. The 366 new fatalities include 188 from Kerala, and 55 from Maharashtra. A total of 4,39,895 deaths have been reported so far in the country including 1,37,551 from Maharashtra, 37,361 from Karnataka, 34,961 from Tamil Nadu, 25,082 from Delhi, 22,841 from Uttar Pradesh, 21,149 from Kerala and 18,472 from West Bengal. 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. .