53 more die in Punjab as nation sees 275 Covid deaths, highest in 83 days

New Delhi, March 24

India recorded 47,262 fresh coronavirus cases in a day, the highest single-day rise so far this year, taking the nationwide Covid tally to 1,17,34,058, the Union health ministry said on Wednesday.

The active caseload registered an increased for the 14th day in row and was recorded at 3,68,457, comprising 3.14 per cent of the total infections, while the recovery rate further dropped to 95.49 per cent, the ministry data updated at 8 am said. 

The daily rise in infections was the highest recorded in 132 days, while the country's COVID-19 death toll increased to 1,60,441, with 275 new fatalities, the highest in 83 days. 

As many as 47,905 new infections were recorded in a span of 24 hours on November 12 last year, it said.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,12,05,160, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.37 per cent, the data stated.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research, 23,64,38,861 samples have been tested till March 23, with 10,25,628 samples tested on Tuesday.

Out of the 275 new fatalities, 132 were reported from Maharashtra, 53 from Punjab, 20 from Chhattisgarh and 10 from Kerala.

A total of 1,60,441 deaths have been reported so far in the country, including 53,589 from Maharashtra, 12,618 from Tamil Nadu, 12,449 from Karnataka, 10,967 from Delhi, 10,310 from West Bengal, 8,764 from Uttar Pradesh and 7,193 from Andhra Pradesh. PTI