India records 15,981 COVID-19 cases, 166 fatalities in a day

India recorded 15,981 COVID-19 cases in a day, taking the infection tally to 3,40,53,573 while 166 more fatalities pushed the death toll to 4,51,980, according to the Union Health Ministry's data on Saturday.

The number of active Covid cases has declined to 2,01,632, the lowest in 218 days. The national recovery rate was at 98.07 per cent, the data updated at 8 am showed.

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Active cases account for 0.59 per cent of the total cases, the lowest since March last year.

In a day, the active COVID-19 caseload declined by 2,046. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 3,33,99,961, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.33 per cent.

As many as 9,23,003 tests were conducted on Friday, taking the cumulative tests conducted so far for the detection of COVID-19 in the country to 58,98,35,258.

Over 97.23 crore Covid vaccine doses have been administered in the country till now under the nationwide vaccination drive.

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 on May 4 and three crore on June 23. The daily case positivity rate was recorded at 1.73 per cent, which has been less than 3 per cent for the last 47 days. The weekly positivity rate was 1.44 per cent and has been less than 3 per cent for the last 113 days, according to the Health Ministry.

The 166 fatalities recorded in a day include 67 from Kerala and 29 from Maharashtra.

A total of 4,51,980 deaths have been reported so far in the country, including 1,39,734 from Maharashtra, 37,931 from Karnataka, 35,869 from Tamil Nadu, 26,734 from Kerala, 25,089 from Delhi, 22,897 from Uttar Pradesh, and 18,935 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.