India reports 1.61 lakh new COVID-19 cases, 879 deaths over 24 hours

NEW DELHI: The active number of coronavirus cases exceeded 12 lakh today after the country recorded a single-day increase of 1,61,736 new cases, with 879 fatalities reported during the same time.

According to data from the Union Health Ministry, 1,36,89,453 people have been infected with the novel virus, with 1,71,058 deaths, bringing the country's fatality rate to 1.25 percent, the lowest in the world.

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Meanwhile, after 97,168 people recovered from the infection in the last 24 hours, the total number of recoveries reached 1,22,53,697 on Monday. However, owing to an unprecedented increase in everyday cases, India's recovery rate has fallen to 89.51 %.

Maharashtra and Delhi continue to be the leading contributors to India's COVID-19 cases regularly. However, after reporting over 51,000 cases on Monday, Maharashtra saw a drop in cases. Delhi, on the other hand, continued to see an increase in cases, with more than 11,000 infections recorded in one day, the largest single-day increase since the pandemic began.

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A lockdown has been enforced in many cities and districts, with the state government threatening to tighten the restrictions if the number of cases rises.