India's Omicron tally rises to 415

New Delhi: A total of 415 cases of Omicron variant of coronavirus have been detected in India so far, out of which 115 have recovered or migrated, according to the Union Health Ministry's data updated on Saturday.

Maharashtra has recorded a maximum of 108 Omicron cases, followed by Delhi at 79, Gujarat 43, Telangana 38, Kerala 37, Tamil Nadu 34 and Karnataka 31. India's Covid tally rose to 3,47,79,815 with 7,189 fresh cases in the last 24 hours, while the active cases have declined to 77,032, according to the data updated at 8 am. The death toll climbed to 4,79,520 with 387 more fatalities, the data showed. The daily rise in new coronavirus cases has been recorded below 15,000 for the last 58 days now. The active cases have declined to 77,032 comprising 0.22 per cent of the total infections, the lowest since March 2020, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.40 per cent, the highest since March 2020, the ministry said.

A decrease of 484 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.65 per cent. It has been less than two per cent for the last 82 days. The weekly positivity rate was also recorded at 0.60 per cent. It has been below one per cent for the last 41 days, according to the Health Ministry. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 3,42,23,263, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.38 per cent. The cumulative doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive has exceeded 141.01 crore. India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20 lakh-mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16.

It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one crore-mark on December 19. India had crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 and three crore on June 23. The 387 new fatalities include 342 from Kerala and 12 from Maharashtra. Of the 342 deaths, 31 were recorded over the last few days and 311 were designated as COVID-19 deaths after receiving appeals based on the new guidelines of the Centre and the directions of the Supreme Court, Kerala's health department had said on Friday.

A total of 4,79,520 deaths have been reported so far in the country, including 1,41,404 from Maharashtra, 46,203 from Kerala, 38,305 from Karnataka, 36,714 from Tamil Nadu, 25,103 from Delhi, 22,915 from Uttar Pradesh and 19,707 from West Bengal. 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.