New Delhi, Oct 23 (UNI) India recorded 54,366 fresh cases of Covid-19 during the past 24 hours, taking the nation's overall caseload to 77.61 lakh while the death toll stood at 1,17,306 with 690 more fatalities, according to the per-day update of Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Friday.
Active cases saw a drop of 20,303 and registered 6,95,509 at present.
Maharashtra accounted for 198 of the day's fatalities, Karnataka (74), Bengal 64, Chhattisgarh 52, Tamil Nadu 45, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi 35 apiece, Kerala (23), Andhra Pradesh 16 and Haryana (14).
Frontline medics were able to save 73,979 more lives, taking to 69,48,497 the total recovery count, 89.53 per cent of the caseload. The fatality rate stood at 1.51 per cent.
As per Indian Council of Medical Research, 14,42,722 samples were tested on Thursday, taking to 10,01,13,085 the total.
A UNI report from Washington DC said US President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden, during their final debate sparred and traded allegations over the pandemic, among other issues.
Trump opened the debate defending his record against the pandemic, saying that his administration would announce a vaccine within weeks. Trump also said that Americans are learning to live with COVID-19 and the US needs to open schools. Trump again blamed China for US woes due to the virus.
Biden in response said Trump still has no comprehensive plan to fight COVID-19. The former vice president called Trump's approach "tragic."
Brazil's COVID-19 death toll has reached 155,900 after 497 more patients succumbed to the disease overnight, Ministry of Health said Thursday.
Meanwhile, 24,858 more infections were reported, raising the nationwide count to 5,323,630, the ministry said.
Brazil is one of hardest-hit countries by the pandemic worldwide, ranking second in terms of Covid-19 deaths, after United States, and third in terms of confirmed cases, behind USA and India.
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