India witnesses 2.73 lakh Covid cases in a day

New Delhi, April 19

India's total tally of Covid cases crossed 1.5 crore with a record single-day rise of 2,73,810 new coronavirus infections, while the active cases surpassed the 19-lakh mark, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday.

The total tally of Covid cases mounted to 1,50,61,919 and the death toll increased to 1,78,769 with a record 1,619 daily new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.

Registering a steady increase for the 40th day in a row, the active cases have increased to 19,29,329 comprising 12.81 per cent of the total infections, while the national Covid recovery rate has dropped to 86 per cent.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,29,53,821, while the case fatality rate has further dropped to 1.19 per cent, the data stated.

According to the ICMR, 26,78,94,549 samples have been tested up to April 18 with 13,56,133 samples being tested on Sunday. 

The 1,619 new fatalities include 503 from Maharashtra, 170 from Chhattisgarh, 161 from Delhi, 127 from Uttar Pradesh, 110 from Gujarat, 81 from Karnataka, 68 from Punjab, 66 from  Madhya Pradesh, 50 from Jharkhand, 42 each from Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu, 29 from Haryana, 28 from West Bengal and 25 from Kerala.

A total of 1,78,769 deaths have been reported so far in the country, including 60,473 from Maharashtra, 13,351 from Karnataka, 13,113 from Tamil Nadu, 12,121 from Delhi, 10,568 from West Bengal, 9,830 from Uttar Pradesh, 7,902 from Punjab and 7,410 from Andhra Pradesh. PTI