India's active COVID-19 cases remain below 6 lakh for second consecutive day; fatality rate drops to 1.49%

New Delhi: India’s COVID-19 caseload climbed to 81,37,119 on Saturday after 48,648 fresh infections were registered in the past 24 hours, according to the Union health ministry. With over 74 lakh patients being cured from the infectious disease, the national recovery rate jumped to 91.34 percent. While the country’s COVID-19 toll climbed to 1,21,641 with 551 new fatalities. The case fatality rate has dropped to 1.49 percent. The number of active COVID-19 cases remained below 6 lakh for the second day in a row. There are 5,82,649 active cases of coronavirus infection in the country, which comprise 7.16 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 and crossed 80 lakh on 29 October. According to the Indian Council of Medical Research, a total of 10,87,96,064 samples had been tested for COVID-19 till 30 October. Of these, 10,67,976 samples were tested on Friday alone. The 551 new fatalities include 127 from Maharashtra, 59 fromWest Bengal, 49 each from Chhattisgarh and Karnataka, 47 from Delhi and 38 from Tamil Nadu. Of the total 1,21,641 deaths reported so far in the country, 43,837 are from Maharashtra, followed by 11,140 from Karnataka, 11,091 from Tamil Nadu, 7,007 from Uttar Pradesh, 6,784 from West Bengal, 6,676 from Andhra Pradesh, 6,470 from Delhi, 4,187 from Punjab and 3,711 from Gujarat. 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.