Over 2 lakh fresh COVID-19 cases in India, 1038 new fatalities

New Delhi: The number of new coronavirus cases in India hit a record daily high with over 2 lakh infections being reported in a day, while the active cases surpassed the 14- lakh mark, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday.

With the new cases, the total tally of COVID-19 cases in the country rose to 1,40,74,564.

A total of 2,00,739 new COVID-19 cases have been registered in a span of 24 hours, while death toll increased to   1,73,123 with 1,038 daily new fatalities, the highest since October 3, 2020, the data updated at 8 am showed.

Registering a steady increase for the 36th day in a row, the active cases have increased to 14,71,877 comprising 10.46 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has dropped to 88.31 per cent.

The active caseload was at its lowest at  1, 35,926 on February 12 and it was at its highest at 10,17,754 on September 18, 2020. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,24,29,564, while the case fatality rate has further dropped to 1.23 per cent, the data stated.

India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 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.

According to the ICMR,  26,20,03,415 samples have been tested up to April 14 with 13,84,549 samples being tested on Wednesday.