Over 64,000 fresh COVID-19 cases; recovery rate improves to 71.17 per cent

India’s COVID-19 caseload surpassed 24 lakh on Friday (Aug 14) after 64,553 more people tested positive and the recoveries rose to over 17 lakh, the Health Ministry said.

With 17,51,555 people defeating the disease, the recovery rate has surged to 71.17 per cent. The caseload increased to 24,61,190, while the death toll climbed to 48,040 with 1,007 people succumbing to the disease in 24 hours, the ministry data updated at 8 am showed.

The fatality rate has declined to 1.95 per cent.

There are more than 6.60 lakh active cases, which is 26.88 per cent of the total.

India had crossed the 20 lakh mark on August 7.

According to ICMR, more than 2.76 crore samples have been tested, with 8,48,728 being tested on Thursday, the highest in a day.

Of the 1,007 fresh deaths reported, Maharashtra accounted for the highest number of fatalities at 413, followed by Tamil Nadu (119), Karnataka (103), Andhra Pradesh (82), West Bengal (56), Uttar Pradesh (50), Punjab (31), Gujarat (18), Madhya Pradesh (17), Delhi (14), Jharkhand (12), Jammu and Kashmir and Rajasthan (11 each) and Bihar (10).

Nine fatalities each have been reported from Odisha and Telangana, eight each from Assam and Haryana, six from Puducherry, five from Chhattisgarh, three each from Kerala and Uttarakhand, two each from Goa and Tripura, while Arunachal Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh and Manipur have registered one fatality each.

Of the total 48,040 deaths, Maharashtra has reported the maximum at 19,063, followed by Tamil Nadu (5,397), Delhi(4,167), Karnataka (3,613), Gujarat (2,731), Andhra Pradesh (2,378), Uttar Pradesh (2,280), West Bengal (2,259) and Madhya Pradesh (1,065).

So far, 833 people have died of COVID-19 in Rajasthan, 706 in Punjab, 674 in Telangana, 511 in Haryana, 509 in Jammu and Kashmir, 426 in Bihar, 314 in Odisha, 209 in Jharkhand, 169 in Assam, 143 in Uttarakhand and 129 in Kerala.

Chhattisgarh has registered 114 deaths, Puducherry 102, Goa 91, Tripura 46, Chandigarh 27, Andaman and Nicobar Islands 22, Himachal Pradesh 19, Manipur 13, Ladakh nine, Nagaland eight, Meghalaya six, Arunachal Pradesh four, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu two and Sikkim one.

The Health Ministry said over 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to co-morbidities. “Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research,” it said, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.