With 7,350 new Covid cases, India's case tally nears 3.47 crore

New Delhi: India's coronavirus tally rose to 3,46,97,860 with 7,350 people testing positive for the infection in a day, while the number of active cases declined to 91,456, the lowest in 561 days, the Union Health Ministry data showed on Monday.

The death toll from the pandemic has climbed to 4,75,636 with 202 new fatalities, according to the data updated at 8 am.

The daily rise in new coronavirus infections has been recorded below 15,000 for the last 46 days now.

The number of active cases has declined to 91,456, comprising 0.26 per cent of the total infections, the lowest since March 2020, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.37 per cent, the highest since March 2020, the Health Ministry said.

A decline of 825 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 case count in a span of 24 hours.

The daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.86 per cent. It has been less than 2 per cent for the last 70 days.

The weekly positivity rate was recorded at 0.69 per cent. It has been below 1 per cent for the last 29 days, according to the ministry.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 3,41,30,768, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.37 per cent.

The cumulative doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive has exceeded 133.17 crore.

India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020; 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 crossed the grim milestone of two crore coronavirus cases on May 4 and three crore on June 23.

The 202 new fatalities include 143 from Kerala, and 16 from Maharashtra.

Of the 143 deaths, 34 were recorded over the last few days and 109 were designated as COVID-19 deaths after receiving appeals based on the new guidelines of the Centre and the directions of the Supreme Court, according to a released issued by the Kerala government on Sunday.

A total of 4,75,636 deaths have been reported so far in the country, including 1,41,259 from Maharashtra, 42,967 from Kerala, 38,261 from Karnataka, 36,612 from Tamil Nadu, 25,100 from Delhi, 22,914 from Uttar Pradesh and 19,600 from West Bengal.

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.