COVID-19: India reports 20,346 cases, 222 fatalities; recoveries cross 1 crore-mark 

NEW DELHI: India's COVID-19 caseload rose to 1,03,95,278 with 20,346 new infections being reported in a day, while the number of recoveries surpassed one crore, according to data updated by the Union health ministry on Thursday.

The death toll increased to 1,50,336 as 222 people succumbed to the disease in a span of 24 hours, the data updated at 8 am showed.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,00,16,859, pushing the national recovery rate to 96.36 per cent, while the COVID-19 case fatality rate stood at 1.45 per cent.

The number of active COVID-19 cases remained below three lakh for the 17th consecutive day.

There are 2,28,083 active coronavirus cases in the country, which account for 2.19 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, 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and the one-crore mark on December 19.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 17,84,00,995 samples have been tested for COVID-19 till January 6, including 9,37,590 on Wednesday.