58 more die in Punjab as nation sees 81,466 new Covid cases

New Delhi, April 2

India saw 81,466 new coronavirus infections being reported in a span of 24 hours, the highest single-day rise in six months, taking the COVID-19 tally of cases to 1,23,03,131, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday.

The single-day rise in cases is the highest recorded since October 2, 2020, while the death toll increased to 1,63,396 with 469 daily new fatalities, the highest since December 6, the data updated at 8 am showed.

Registering a steady increase for the 23rd day in row, the active cases have increased to 6,14,696 comprising 5 per cent of the total infections, while the recovery rate has further dropped to 93.67 per cent, the data stated.

As many as 81,484 new infections were recorded in a span of 24 hours on October 2 while 482 daily deaths were registered on December 6.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 11525039. The case fatality rate stood at 1.33 per cent, the data stated.

According to the ICMR, 24,59,12,587 samples have been tested up to April 1, and 11,13,966 samples were tested on Thursday. 

The 469 new fatalities include 249 from Maharashtra, 58 from Punjab, 34 from Chhattisgarh, 19 from Tamil Nadu, 18 from Karnataka, 11 from Kerala and nine each from Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.

A total of 1,63,396 deaths have been reported so far in the country, including 54,898 from Maharashtra, 12,738 from Tamil Nadu, 12,585 from Karnataka, 11,036 from Delhi, 10,331 from West Bengal, 8,820 from Uttar Pradesh, 7,220 from Andhra Pradesh and 6,926 from Punjab. PTI