India’s Covid-19 caseload rose to 1.05 crore with 15,590 people testing positive for the infection in a day, while recoveries have surged to 1.01 crore according to Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday.

The death toll increased to 1.51 lakh with 191 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed. The national Covid-19 recovery rate is 96.53 per cent, while the fatality rate stands at 1.44 per cent.

The Covid-19 active caseload remained below three lakh with 2.13 lakh active coronavirus infections which comprise 2.02 per cent of the total caseload, the data stated. India’s Covid-19 tally surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 18 crore samples have been tested up to January 14 with 7.30 lakh samples being tested on Thursday.

The 191 new fatalities include 70 from Maharashtra; 19 from Kerala; 17 from West Bengal; 14 from Uttar Pradesh; 10 each from Chhattisgarh and Punjab; eight from Madhya Pradesh; six from Haryana; and four each from Delhi, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

A total of 1.51 lakh deaths have been reported so far in the country, including 50,291 from Maharashtra followed by 12,246 from Tamil Nadu, 12,155 from Karnataka, 10,722 from Delhi, 10,010 from West Bengal, 8,543 from Uttar Pradesh, 7,138 from Andhra Pradesh and 5,473 from Punjab.

The health ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to co-morbidities.

“Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research,” the ministry said on its website and added that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.

Published on January 15, 2021