Coronavirus: Over 56,000 fresh COVID-19 cases in 24 hours takes tally to 19,64,536

 The COVID-19 tally in India rose to 19,64,536 on Thursday after over 56,000 fresh cases were reported within a span of 24 hours.  

New Delhi: India saw a single-day increase of 56,282 cases taking the country's COVID-19 tally to 19,64,536 on Thursday, while the recoveries have surged to 13,28,336 and comprise 67.62% of the total caseload, according to the Union health ministry data.

The death toll due to COVID-19 climbed to 40,699 with 904 new fatalities being reported in 24 hours, the data updated at 8 am showed.

There are 5,95,501 active COVID-19 cases in the country presently which contribute 30.31% of the total cases.

The fatality rate has further dropped to 2.07%, the data stated.

This is the eighth consecutive day that COVID-19 cases have increased by more than 50,000.

Maharashtra continues to be the worst-hit state with 4.68 lakh coronavirus cases and over 16,000 deaths. Maharashtra is followed by Tamil Nadu which has reported 2.73 lakh COVID-19 cases and over 4,000 deaths.

Karnataka crossed the grim milestone of 1.5 lakh COVID-19 cases to become the third worst-hit state in the country. As the steep growth rate of fresh cases and fatalities linked to COVID-19 continues in Karnataka, as many as 5619 cases and 100 deaths were reported on Wednesday. Meanwhile, 1848 more people have been infected in Bengaluru in the last 24 hours while 29 more deaths in the city that took place in the last few days have been linked to the pandemic. The capital city now has 32,757 active cases.

Andhra Pradesh has also emerged as a coronavirus hotspot in India and has reported 1.86 coronavirus cases and more than 1,600 fatalities.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a cumulative total of 2,21,49,351 samples have been tested up to August 5 with 6,64,949 samples being tested on Wednesday.