61,537 New Covid-19 Cases Take India's Tally to Near 21 Lakh, Death Toll Rises to 42,518

Registering 61,537 more cases in India, the coronavirus tally reached 20,88,611 on Saturday, while the death toll rose to 42,518 with 933 more fatalities, the Health Ministry said.

The number of recoveries surged to 14,27,005 and the recovery rate rose to 68.32 per cent, according to ministry data. There are 6,19,088 active cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), comprising 29.64 per cent of the caseload. A total of 61,537 cases were added in a day, taking the tally to 20,88,611, it said.

This was the 10th day in a row that the COVID-19 tally increased by more than 50,000. As many as 5,98,778 samples were tested on Friday, taking the total to 2,33,87,171 so far, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research.

Of the 933 fresh deaths reported, 300 are from Maharashtra, 119 from Tamil Nadu, 101 from Karnataka, 89 from Andhra Pradesh, 63 from Uttar Pradesh, 52 from West Bengal, 23 in Delhi,  22 from Punjab and Gujarat,  16 from Madhya Pradesh, 14 each from Uttarakhand and Telangana, 13 from Jammu and Kashmir, 12 from Odisha and  10 each from Rajasthan and Chattisgarh. Nine fatalities were reported from Haryana while six each from Bihar, Assam and Jharkhand, five in Kerala and Puducherry, four in Goa, three in Andaman and Nicobar Islands while Nagaland and Tripura have registered one fatality each.

Of the total 42,518 deaths, Maharashtra has reported the maximum at 17,092 followed by 4,690 in Tamil Nadu, 4,082 in Delhi, 2,998 in Karnataka, 2,605 in Gujarat, 1,981 in Uttar Pradesh, 1,954 in West Bengal, 1,842 in Andhra Pradesh and 962 in Madhya Pradesh. So far, 767 people have died of COVID-19 in Rajasthan, 615 in Telangana, 539 in Punjab, 467 in Haryana, 449 in Jammu and Kashmir, 369 in Bihar, 247 in Odisha, 151 in Jharkhand, 132 in Assam, 112 in Uttarakhand, 102 in Kerala.

Chhattisgarh has registered 87 deaths, Puducherry 75, Goa 70, Tripura 37, Chandigarh 23, Andaman and Nicobar Islands 19, Himachal Pradesh 14 , nine in Ladakh  and ten in Manipur, seven in Nagaland, five in Meghalaya, three in Arunachal Pradesh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu two and Sikkim one. 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, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.