NEW DELHI: India’s COVID-19 caseload rose to 96.44 lakh, while the total number of people who have recuperated from the disease crossed 91 lakh pushing the national recovery rate to 94.37 per cent, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Sunday. The COVID-19 active caseload plunged to almost 4 lakh after 138 days. The total coronavirus cases mounted to 96,44,222 with 36,011 new infections being reported in a day, while the death toll crossed to 1.40 lakh with 482 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 91,00,792 pushing the national recovery rate to 94.37 per cent, while the COVID-19 case fatality rate stands at 1.45 per cent. There are 4,03,248 active coronavirus infections in the country which comprises 4.18 per cent of the total caseload, the data stated. India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23 and 40 lakh on September 5. It went past 50 lakh on September 16, 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, and surpassed 90 lakh on November 20. According to the ICMR, 14,69,86,575 samples have been tested up to December 5 with 11,01,063 samples being tested on Saturday. The 482 new fatalities include 95 from Maharashtra, 77 from Delhi, 49 from West Bengal, 32 from Kerala, 25 from Haryana, 24 from Punjab, 23 from Uttar Pradesh, 21 from Chhattisgarh and 20 from Rajasthan. A total of 1,40,182 deaths have been reported so far in the country including 47,694 from Maharashtra followed by 11,846 from Karnataka, 11,777 from Tamil Nadu, 9,574 from Delhi, 8,677 from West Bengal, 7,900 from Uttar Pradesh, 7,024 from Andhra Pradesh, 4,906 from Punjab, 4,064 from Gujarat and 3,326 from Madhya 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 figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation
