India recorded 78,524 new cases of coronavirus and 971 deaths in the last 24 hours, taking India’s COVID-19 tally past the 68-lakh mark, shows the Health Ministry data released this morning. A total of 83,011 people also successfully fought off the viral disease in the last 24 hours.
According to the government figures, total Covid cases in India now stand at 68,35,655, including 9,02,427 active cases, 58,27,704 recoveries and 1,05,526 deaths.
Health minister Harsh Vardhan has said India’s rising recovery rate and progressively falling active cases have proven the success of the Centre-led COVID-19 containment strategy.
India’s recovery rate increased marginally to 85.3 per cent, death rate stood steady at 1.5 per cent and daily positivity rate increased to 6.5 per cent as almost 12 lakh tests were conducted in the last 24 hours.
More than 8.3 crore tests have been conducted in India till now, as per the government’s “test, track and treat” policy, the Health Ministry tweeted.
Most cases in the last 24 hours were reported from Maharashtra , accounted for 18 per cent of all new cases (14,578), followed by almost 11,000 new cases in Karnataka, then Kerala with more than 10,000 cases, with Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, both, reporting about 5,000 cases each. These states together accounted for almost 60 per cent of all cases reported in the country.
With 335 deaths, Maharashtra also reported the most Covid fatalities in the 24-hour period, followed by Karnataka (113), Tamil Nadu (67), West Bengal (58) and Uttar Pradesh (47). Together these states account for 640 deaths, or 66 per cent of all Covid fatalities in the country.
With almost 15 lakh cases, Maharashtra has become the first state to regulate the rates of face masks during COVID-19 pandemic and a formal order will soon be issued. Health Minister Rajesh Tope confirmed that now prices of N-95 maks will be available for around ₹ 19 to ₹ 50 depending on the type, while the double and triple layer masks will be available for just ₹ 3 to ₹ 4.
Kerala, which recorded more than 10,000 new coronavirus cases today – its highest single-day count so far – has banned large gatherings in capital Thiruvananthapuram till October 31.