India registered 47,262 new COVID-19 cases in 24 hours, the highest single-day spike so far this year, taking the countrywide coronavirus tally to 1,17,34,058, the Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday, March 24.
The active caseload recorded a rise for the 14th day in a row and was registered at 3,68,457, including 3.14 per cent of the total infections, whereas the recovery rate further dipped to 95.48 per cent, according to the ministry data updated at 8 am.
The spike in daily cases was the highest registered in 132 days, whereas with 275 new casualties, the country's coronavirus death toll jumped to 1,60,441, the highest in around 83 days.
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As many as 47,905 new infections were recorded in a span of 24 hours on November 12 last year, it said.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,12,05,160, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.37 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, 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20, and surpassed the one crore-mark on December 19.
According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 23,64,38,861 samples have been tested till March 23, with 10,25,628 samples tested on Tuesday.
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Out of the 275 new fatalities, 132 deaths were reported from Maharashtra, 53 from Punjab, 20 from Chhattisgarh, and 10 from Kerala.
A total of 1,60,441 deaths have been reported so far in the country, including 53,589 from Maharashtra, 12,618 from Tamil Nadu, 12,449 from Karnataka, 10,967 from Delhi, 10,310 from West Bengal, 8,764 from Uttar Pradesh, and 7,193 from Andhra Pradesh.
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 the figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.
(With inputs from PTI.)