Amid the second Covid wave ebbing in most parts of the country, India logged 1.06 lakh new coronavirus infections during the last 24 hours, its lowest daily rise in almost two months. It marked a drop of 12 per cent from yesterday's 1.14 lakh infections that were reported to be the lowest in two months. The death toll due to coronavirus reached 3,49,186 with 2,427 new fatalities, the lowest in around 45 days, the data updated at 8 am showed.
A total of 96,982 new cases were recorded in a span of 24 hours on April 6.
Also, 15,87,589 tests were conducted on Sunday, taking the total cumulative tests conducted so far for detection of COVID-19 in the country to 36,63,34,111, while the daily positivity rate was recorded at 6.34 per cent.
It has been less than 10 per cent for 14 consecutive days, the ministry said.
The weekly positivity rate has declined to 6.21 per cent. The number of active cases has reduced to 14,01,609, comprising 4.85 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has improved to 93.94 per cent.
A net decline of 76,190 cases has been recorded in the COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.
Recoveries continue to outnumber daily new cases for 25 consecutive days. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 2,71,59,180, while the case fatality rate has further increased to 1.21 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.
India had crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4.
The 2,427 new fatalities include 618 from Maharashtra, 434 from Tamil Nadu, 320 from Karnataka, 227 from Kerala and 107 from West Bengal.
A total of 3, 49,186 deaths have been reported so far in the country, including 1,00,130 from Maharashtra, 31,580 from Karnataka, 27,005 from Tamil Nadu, 24,591 from Delhi, 21,236 from Uttar Pradesh, 16,259 from West Bengal, 15,076 from Punjab and 13,217 from Chhattisgarh.
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.
Maharashtra on Sunday reported further improvement in its Covid graph with the western state reporting 12,557 cases, the lowest in nearly three months. The fatality rate now stands at 1.72 per cent while the recovery rate is 95.05 per cent.
From today, Maharashtra will begin easing the restrictions, with the overall process extending across five phases based on the positivity rate and occupancy of beds with medical oxygen. Local trains in Mumbai, however, will carry only essential workers. Buses in the city will be allowed to ply full capacity, but passengers can't travel standing to avoid crowding.
Delhi will also ease restrictions from today as part of the unlocking process after the COVID-19 cases reduced significantly in the national capital. Shops in malls, markets, standalone shops and neighborhood shops will open with the restrictions of even-odd and timings from Monday, as per the order. Delhi Metro, which was suspended since May 10, will operate with 50 per cent capacity.
With PTI inputs
