India logs 7,974 new Covid-19 cases, 343 fatalities

India added 7,974 new coronavirus infections taking the total tally of Covid-19 cases to 3,47,18,602, while the active cases declined to 87,245, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday.

The death toll climbed to 4,76,478 with 343 fresh fatalities, according to the data updated at 8 am.

The daily rise in new coronavirus infections has been recorded below 15,000 for the last 49 days now.

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The active cases comprise 0.25 per cent of the total infections, the lowest since March 2020, while the national Covid-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.38 per cent, the highest since March 2020, the ministry said.

A decline of 317 cases has been recorded in the active Covid-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

The daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.57 per cent. It has been less than two per cent for the last 73 days. The weekly positivity rate was also recorded at 0.64 per cent. It has been below one per cent for the last 32 days, according to the ministry.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 3,41,54,879, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.37 per cent.

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The cumulative doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide Covid-19 vaccination drive has exceeded 135.25 crore.

India's Covid-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 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.

India crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 and three crore on June 23.

The 343 new fatalities include 282 from Kerala and 13 from West Bengal.

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Of the 282 deaths in Kerala, 125 were recorded over the last few days and 157 were designated as Covid-19 deaths after receiving appeals based on the new guidelines of the Centre and the directions of the Supreme Court, a Kerala state government release said on Wednesday.

A total of 4,76,478 deaths have been reported so far in the country including 1,41,298 from Maharashtra, 43,626 from Kerala,38,277 from Karnataka, 36,644 from Tamil Nadu, 25,100 from Delhi, 22,915 from Uttar Pradesh and 19,633 from West Bengal.

The ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.

"Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research," the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.

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