India sees 42,625 new cases, 562 deaths; Kerala behind case surge, Maharashtra drives spike in fatalities

With 42,625 people testing positive for the coronavirus infection in a day, India’s total tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 3,17,69,132 and the active caseload increased to 4,10,353, according to data updated by the Union Health Ministry on Wednesday. The death toll climbed to 4,25,757 with 562 fatalities. The number of active cases increased to 4,10,353 and accounted for 1.29 percent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate rose to 97.37 percent, the data updated at 8 am showed. An increase of 5,395 cases has been recorded in the active caseload in a span of 24 hours. As many as 18,47,518 samples were tested on Tuesday taking the number of tests conducted so far for detection of COVID-19 in the country to 47,31,42,307. The daily positivity rate stood at 2.31 per cent, while the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 2.36 per cent, according to the ministry. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 3,09,33,022, while the case fatality rate stood at 1.34 per cent, according to the data. Cumulative vaccine doses administered in the country so far has reached 48.52 crore. India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7; 30 lakh on August 23; 40 lakh on September 5; and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28; 70 lakh on October 11; 80 lakh on October 29; 90 lakh on November 20; and the one-crore mark on December 19. India crossed the grim milestone of two crore coronavirus cases on May 4 and three crore cases on June 23. The 562 new fatalities include 177 from Maharashtra and 148 from Kerala. A total of 4,25,757 deaths have been reported so far in the country, including 1,33,215 from Maharashtra, 36,650 from Karnataka, 34,159 from Tamil Nadu, 25,058 from Delhi, 22,765 from Uttar Pradesh, 18,170 from West Bengal, and 16,299 from Punjab. The Health Ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent 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. Here are key data points from today - 42.63k new cases, 562 new deaths, 36.67k new recoveries, 5.4k rise in active cases - Kerala reports 23.68k new cases, Maharashtra 6k, Tamil Nadu 1.9k - Kerala reports the highest new cases in the last 68 days. Kerala accounts for 55.5% of new cases and 42.3% of India’s total active caseload - Maharashtra reports 177 new deaths, Kerala 148, Odisha 69 - 14 states/UTs report a rise in active cases - Difference between new cases reported in the last 7 days and the preceding 7 days in India is +6% (world average is +11%) - 62.54 lakh new vaccinations. 48.53 crore total. 50.3 lakh received their first dose yesterday, 12.23 lakh second dose - Daily vaccinations over 60 lakh for the second consecutive day - 18.47 lakh new tests. Test positivity rate: 2.31% (1.85% the previous day) - Daily tests highest in the last 14 days - Test positivity rate: Manipur 12.67%, Sikkim 11.23%, Kerala 10.93% - Global coronavirus cases now over 200 million affecting 2.7% of the world’s population