India records 33,376 new coronavirus cases, 308 deaths

New Delhi: India saw a single-day rise of 33,376 coronavirus infections, taking the overall tally of cases to 3,32,08,330, while the number of active cases increased marginally since Friday to stand at 3,91,516, according to the Union Health Ministry. The death toll climbed to 4,42,317 with 308 daily fatalities, according to the data updated at 8 am. The number of active cases have increased to 3,91,516, comprising 1.18 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 97.49 per cent, the health ministry said.

An increase of 870 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. On Friday, the country had recoded 3,90,646 active cases. Also, 15,92,135 tests were conducted Friday, taking the total cumulative tests conducted so far for the detection of COVID-19 in the country to 54,01,96,989. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 2.10 per cent. It has been less than 3 per cent for the past 12 days. The weekly positivity rate was recorded at 2.26 per cent. It has been below 3 per cent for the past 78 days, according to the health ministry.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease increased to 3,23,74,497, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.33 per cent, the data showed. The cumulative number of Covid vaccine doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide drive has crossed 73.05 crore, according to the ministry. 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 crossed the grim milestone of 2 crore cases on May 4 and 3 crore on June 23.

The 308 new fatalities include 177 from Kerala, and 44 from Maharashtra. A total f 4,42,317 deaths have been reported so far in the country including 1,38,061 from Maharashtra, 37,472 from Karnataka, 35, 119 from Tamil Nadu, 25,083 from Delhi, 22,864 from Uttar Pradesh, 22,303 from Kerala and 18,553 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.