India reports 1.61 lakh coronavirus cases in 24 hours; recovery rate drops to 89.5%

India reported 1,61,736 new coronavirus infections in a span of 24 hours, taking the overall caseload to 1,36,89,453. The death toll increased to 1,71,058 with 879 new fatalities, according to 8 am data by the Union Health Ministry on Tuesday.

Additionally, the number of active cases rose to 12,64,698, or 9.24 per cent of the total infections. The active caseload was at its lowest at 1,35,926 on February 12, 2021, and highest at 10,17,754 on September 18, 2020.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,22,53,697 as of April 13. With this, the country's COVID-19 recovery rate has dropped further to 89.51 per cent.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 25,92,07,108 samples have been tested up to April 12, of which 14,00,122 were done on Monday.

The union health ministry has said that ten states--Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Rajasthan -- have shown a steep rise in the daily COVID-19 cases, accounting for 83.02 per cent of the new infections.

Delhi recorded 11,491 COVID-19 cases on Monday, the highest single-day surge in the national capital till date, while 72 more people died due to the disease, according to data shared by the health department. The city's positivity rate rose to 12.44 per cent from 9.43 percent a day ago.

The worst affected state of Maharashtra reported 51,751 fresh coronavirus cases, a day after logging the highest 63,294 infections. The state also reported 258 deaths.

As the surge in coronavirus cases in the country continued unabated, Congress president Sonia Gandhi has requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to allow emergency use of all vaccine candidates. In a letter to the prime minister, she also sought expansion of categories of people eligible for vaccination on the basis of need and exposure rather than age.At present, India is the world's second worst-hit country from coronavirus after the United States. Yesterday, India surpassed Brazil to become the second-most affected country from coronavirus. According to the Johns Hopkins University (JHU) data, the US logged 31,267,359 coronavirus cases to date. While India and Brazil's cumulative caseload has surged to 13,527,717 and 13,517,808, respectively. The global COVID tally has been put at 136,500,769.

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