India’s COVID-19 Tally Rises To 1,05,27,683 With 15K New Infections

New Delhi: With 15,590 new coronavirus infections India's COVID-19 caseload rose to 1,05,27,683 in the last 24 hours, while the recoveries have surged to 1,01,62,738, according to the Union health Ministry data updated on Friday.

The country's death toll increased to 1,51,918 with 191 daily new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,01,62,738 pushing the national COVID-19 recovery rate to 96.53 per cent, while the COVID-19 case fatality rate stands at 1.44 per cent.

The COVID-19 active caseload remained below 3 lakh.

There are 2,13,027 active cases of coronavirus infections in the country which comprises 2.02 per cent of the total caseload, the data stated.

India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 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.

According to the ICMR, 18,49,62,401 samples have been tested up to January 14 with 7,30,096 samples being tested on Thursday.

About 76 per cent of the daily new cases are reported from seven states -- Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat.

Meanwhile, the most-awaited mass vaccination drive is slated to begin from Saturday, with approval of two vaccines.

The Central government has planned to vaccinate nearly three crore people in the first phase of the drive.

The Union Health Ministry has said that 1.1 crore 'Covishield' and 55 lakh 'Covaxin' doses have been procured at the cost of Rs 200 and Rs 206 per dose, respectively.

(With Agency Inputs)