India records over 15,000 new COVID-19 cases in last 24 hours, taking total infections past 1.12 crore

New Delhi: With 15,388 fresh cases, India’s COVID-19 tally has climbed to 1,12,44,786, while the number of recoveries has surged to 1,08,99,394, the Union health ministry said on Tuesday. The death toll due to the viral disease has gone up to 1,57,930 in the country with 77 more fatalities, the ministry’s data updated at 8 am showed. After registering an increase for six consecutive days, the number of active COVID-19 cases has gone down to 1,87,462, accounting for only 1.67 percent of the country’s total caseload, while the case fatality rate has dropped to 1.40 percent. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has gone up to 1,08,99,394, which translates to a national COVID-19 recovery rate of 96.93 percent. India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on 7 August last year, the 30-lakh mark on 23 August, the 40-lakh mark on 5 September and the 50-lakh mark on 16 September. It went past 60 lakh on 28 September, 70 lakh on 11 October, 80 lakh on 29 October, 90 lakh on 20 November and the one-crore mark on 19 December. According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 22,27,16,796 samples have so far been tested in the country for the viral disease, including 7,48,525 on Monday.