India records 2.34 lakh fresh covid cases, 1,341 deaths

New Delhi, April 17

A record single-day rise of 2,34,692 cases and 1,341 fatalities have pushed India's COVID-19 tally to 1,45,26,609 and the death toll due to the viral disease to 1,75,649, the health ministry said on Saturday.

The number of active coronavirus cases in the country has surpassed the 16-lakh mark, the ministry's data updated at 8 am showed.

Of the fresh cases, Maharashtra reported 63,729, followed by Uttar Pradesh (27,426) and Delhi (19,486), according to the data.

All three states registered the highest daily spike in the number of coronavirus cases since the outbreak of the pandemic last year. West Bengal, where Assembly polls are underway, also recorded the highest-ever daily jump of 6,910 cases.

Maharashtra also reported the maximum number of fresh casualties at 398, followed by Delhi (141), Chhattisgarh (138), Uttar Pradesh (103), Gujarat (94), Karnataka (78), Madhya Pradesh (60), Punjab (50), Tamil Nadu (33) and Rajasthan (31).

Registering a steady increase for the 38th day in a row, the tally of active COVID-19 cases has climbed to 16,79,740 in the country, accounting for 11.56 per cent of its total caseload, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has dropped to 87.23 per cent.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has gone up to 1,26,71,220, while the case fatality rate has further dropped to 1.21 per cent, the data stated.

 India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7 last year, the 30-lakh mark on August 23, the 40-lakh mark on September 5 and the 50-lakh mark on September 16.

It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and the one-crore mark on December 19.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 26,49,72,022 samples have so far been tested for the viral disease in the country, including 14,95,397 on Friday. PTI