With 83,347 fresh cases, India's COVID-19 tally crosses 56-lakh mark

India’s COVID-19 caseload went past 56 lakh with 83,347 infections being reported in a day, while over 45 lakh people have recuperated, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday (September 23).

The national recovery rate stands at 81.25 per cent. The coronavirus caseload surged to 56,46,010, while the death toll climbed to 90,020 with 1,085 people succumbing to the disease in a span of 24 hours, the data updated at 8 am showed.

The total recoveries have surged to 45,87,613 in the country so far. The COVID-19 case fatality rate due to the coronavirus infection has dropped to 1.59 per cent. There are 9,68,377 active cases of coronavirus infection in the country which comprises 17.15  per cent of the total caseload, the data stated.

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 went past 50 lakh on September 16. According to the ICMR, a cumulative total of 6,62,79,462 samples have been tested up to September 22 with 9,53,683 samples being tested on Tuesday.

The 1,085 new deaths include 392 from Maharashtra, 83 from Karnataka, 77 from Uttar Pradesh, 76 from Tamil Nadu, 66 from Punjab, 62 from West Bengal, 51 from Andhra Pradesh and 37 from Delhi.

A total of 90,020 deaths have been reported so far in the country includes 33,407 from Maharashtra followed by 8,947 from Tamil Nadu, 8,228 from Karnataka, 5,461 from Andhra Pradesh, 5,212 from Uttar Pradesh, 5,051 from Delhi, 4,483 from West Bengal, 3,352 from Gujarat, 2,926 from Punjab and 2,035 from Madhya Pradesh.

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.