5,06,50,128 COVID-19 samples tested till September 7, says ICMR

NEW DELHI: The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Tuesday (September 8, 2020) said that a total of 5,06,50,128 samples for detecting coronavirus COVID-19 infections have been tested till September 7. Of these, around 10,98,621 COVID-19 samples were tested on Monday alone, the ICMR added.

According to the ICMR, a cumulative total of 4,95,51,507 samples had been tested up to September 6, with 7,20,362 samples being tested on Sunday.

The statement from the apex Indian medical research body came a day after India's COVID-19 tally went past 42 lakh with a record of 90,802 people being infected in a day.

However, 32,50,429 people have recuperated so far from the deadly virus, pushing the national recovery rate to 77.30 per cent, the Union Health Ministry data showed on Monday.

The total number of coronavirus cases mounted to 42,04,613, while the death toll climbed to 71,642 with 1,016 fatalities being reported in a span of 24 hours, the data updated at 8 am showed.

The COVID-19 case fatality rate has further declined to 1.70 per cent.

There are 8,82,542 active cases of the infection in the country which comprises 20.99 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 and it went past 40 lakh on September 5.

Of the 1,016 fresh deaths, 328 are from Maharashtra, 95 from Karnataka, 88 from Tamil Nadu, 77 from Uttar Pradesh, 70 from Andhra Pradesh, 54 from Punjab, 52 from West Bengal, 29 each from Delhi and Madhya Pradesh, 25 from Haryana, 24 from Chhattisgarh and 16 from Puducherry.

Fifteen fatalities have been reported each from Bihar and Rajasthan, 14 each from Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir, 10 from Kerala, 11 from Uttarakhand, nine from Telangana, eight each from Assam and Odisha, seven each from Jharkhand and Goa, five from Tripura, two each from Chandigarh and Manipur, one each from Himachal Pradesh and Meghalaya.

Of the total 71,642 deaths, Maharashtra has reported the maximum at 26,604 followed by 7,836 in Tamil Nadu, 6,393 in Karnataka, 4,567 in Delhi, 4,417 in Andhra Pradesh, 3,920 in Uttar Pradesh, 3,562 in West Bengal, 3,105 in Gujarat and 1,862 in Punjab.

So far, 1,572 people have died of COVID-19 in Madhya Pradesh, 1,137 in Rajasthan, 895 in Telangana, 806 in Haryana, 784 in Jammu and Kashmir, 750 in Bihar, 546 in Odisha, 469 in Jharkhand, 380 in Chhattisgarh, 360 in Assam, 347 in Kerala and ?341 in Uttarakhand.

Puducherry has registered 314 fatalities, Goa 236, Tripura 149, Chandigarh 71, Himachal Pradesh 55, Andaman and Nicobar Islands 50, Manipur 38, Ladakh 35, Meghalaya 16, Nagaland 10, Arunachal Pradesh eight, Sikkim five and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu two.

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