India's Covid-19 caseload crosses 80 lakh

India's Covid-19 caseload crossed the 80 lakh mark on Wednesday 18 days after the 70 lakh mark was reached, reflecting the recent slowdown in the epidemic's progression since the third week of September.

India crossed 50 lakh Covid-19 cases on September 16 as the epidemic reached its first peak. Subsequently, the 60 lakh mark was breached on September 27 after a gap of 11 days while the 70 lakh mark was passed on October 10, after 13 days.

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Meanwhile, the downward slide in India's Covid-19 numbers being seen in the last few days stopped on Wednesday with the recording of over 500 deaths and nearly 44,000 new cases in the last 24 hours. 

The 508 fatalities recorded in the last 24 hours include 115 from Maharashtra, 58 from West Bengal, 44 each from Delhi and Karnataka, 36 from Uttar Pradesh and 27 from Tamil Nadu. The Union Health Ministry stressed that more than 70% of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.