More than 85,000 new Covid cases were reported across India in the past 24 hours, government data showed on Sunday, taking the total number of coronavirus cases in the country past the 60 lakh-mark.
Over 1,000 deaths were also recorded in the past 24 hours, pushing the total number of deaths recorded since the pandemic began past 94,000.
The number of recoveries reported in the past 24 hours is around 92,000, taking the total number of people who have fought off the virus past 49 lakh.
Around 13.4 lakh Covid tests were also conducted in the past 24 hours. India is the second worst-affected country by the Covid pandemic, second only to the United States in the total number of active cases
Here are the Highlights on Coronavirus (Covid-19) cases:
"In the last 24 hours, 3,292 cases of the COVID-19 were reported, taking the total number of cases to 2,71,114," a statement issued Delhi government it said.
News agency AFP has reported that global coronavirus deaths have crossed 1 million mark. "The pandemic has ravaged the global economy, inflamed geopolitical tensions and upended lives, from Indian slums and Brazil's jungles to America's biggest city New York," the AFP news report said. Read
The number of coronavirus cases in Assam continue to increase but there is some good news for the northeastern state's beleaguered health officials - there has been a 50 per cent fall in the number of Japanese Encephalitis (JE) cases.
In 2019 the number of JE infections were 630, of which 154 patients died. This year only 318 have been infected so far and 51 have died. The fatality rate has fallen from 24 per cent to 16 per cent.
Japanese Encephalitis is a potentially fatal mosquito-borne disease that, in severe cases, can cause inflammation of the brain and leave the patient in a coma or with paralysis.
An official reason has not been given for the order's withdrawal, although sources have confirmed it was called back because it was not in accordance with protocols issued by both the Delhi government and the ICMR (Indian Council for Medical Research, the centre's nodal body in this crisis).
Sikkim's COVID-19 tally rose to 2,790 on Sunday as 38 more people tested positive for the disease while one fresh fatality pushed the coronavirus death to count 33, an official said.
The national capital reported 42 COVID-19 fatalities on Sunday, taking the number of deaths to 5,235, while 3,292 fresh cases pushed the infection tally to 2,71,114.
This is the second day on the trot when the city reported more than 40 coronavirus deaths.
On Saturday, authorities had reported 46 fatalities, which was the highest in a day since July 16, when the city reported 58 deaths.
The cumulative COVID-19 case count rose to 2,71,114 on Sunday with 3,292 more people contracting the viral disease.
The 42 fatalities pushed the death count to 5,235.
The capital reported 3,372 cases on Saturday, 3,827 on Friday, 3,834 on Thursday, 3,714 on Wednesday, and 3,816 on Tuesday.
Maharashtra recorded 18,056 new coronavirus positive cases on Sunday, which pushed the state's overall tally to 13,39,232, the health department said.
Fifty more fatalities pushed the death toll due to COVID-19 to 3,238 in Punjab while 1,458 more cases took the infection tally to 1,10,106 on Sunday.
Nine deaths were reported from Ludhiana, eight from Jalandhar, six from Patiala, five each from Amritsar and Pathankot and three each from Hoshiarpur and Rupnagar, as per the state health departments medical bulletin.
Two deaths each were reported from Fatehgarh Sahib, Gurdaspur, SBS Nagar, Tarn Taran and one each from Mansa, Moga and Sangrur.
The places which reported new cases included Amritsar (167), Mohali (165), Ludhiana (151), Patiala (131), Pathankot (115) and Jalandhar (108).
Outstation patients being brought to Delhi in "very sick state" for treatment, and "time lapse" in transferring to hospital home quarantined persons whose health has deteriorated, could be among the factors behind the high number of COVID-19 fatalities recorded in the last few days, say experts.
Doctors at leading government facilities and private hospitals in Delhi on Sunday also concurred that the deaths being reported now are "mostly of patients aged 60 and above with co-morbidities".
The national capital reported 46 COVID-19 deaths on Saturday, the highest in over 70 days, taking the toll to 5,193, while 3,372 fresh cases pushed the tally to 2,67,822.
This is the highest number of coronavirus deaths reported in a day in Delhi since July 16, when the city had recorded 58 fatalities.
Madhya Pradesh on Sunday recorded 2,310 new coronavirus cases, pushing its caseload to 1,22,209, while 26 deaths took the count to 2,207, an official said.
Uttar Pradesh reported 4,403 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, taking the number of active cases in the state to 55,603.
Uttar Pradesh Principal Health Secretary Amit Mohan Prasad in a press conference said in the last 24 hours and 5,656 people discharged.
The current recovery rate in the state is 84.19 per cent, with a total of 3,25,888 recovered from the viral infection so far.
"The death count due to coronavirus infection in the state has reached 5594," said Mr Prasad.
Congress leader has also urged the people, who have come in contact with him to get themselves tested for the virus.
"I request all my primary contacts to get themselves checked and take necessary precautions," he added.
With India reporting the maximum number of COVID-19 recovery cases than active cases, at least 21 states including the union territories are witnessing more recoveries than new cases, informed the Union Health Ministry on Sunday.
These states/UTs include Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Odisha, Punjab, Meghalaya and Chhattisgarh.
"It has been ensured through early identification of COVID-19 cases, prompt surveillance and tracking along with standardised clinical care," said the health ministry.
For the last several days, the single-day COVID-19 recoveries on an average have been more than 90,000.
At least 302 people tested positive for COVID-19 in Tripura on Sunday, pushing the tally to 24,728, a health department official said.
Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said on Sunday the COVID-19 fatality rate in the national capital was less than one per cent in the last 10 days and asserted that a massive increase in testing for detection of coronavirus infection has led to the rise in cases.
He said Delhi recorded 3,372 fresh cases on Saturday and 4,476 patients recovered within 24 hours.
About 46 deaths reported during the same period, which has been the highest in nearly 70 days, Jain said, "We do not look at the figures for a single day. The average fatality rate of the last 10 days has been 0.94 per cent.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday will hold a video conference with officials over COVID-19 situation in the state.
He has recently instructed officials to enhance the number of beds and manpower at COVID-19 hospitals to control the pandemic.
"The state government is committed to keeping the public safe from the COVID-19 infection. The government is committed to keep the pandemic away from the state and provide better treatment to the people, " Mr Adityanath said, as per the CMO.
According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, there are 57,086 active coronavirus cases in Uttar Pradesh while 5,517 people have succumbed to the disease in the state.
The COVID-19 tally of Andaman and Nicobar Islands rose to 3,774 on Sunday as 15 more people tested positive for the infection, a health official said.
A total of 92,043 people have recuperated from COVID-19 in a span of 24 hours, taking India's total recoveries close to 50 lakhs and exceeding the active cases of coronavirus infection by 39,85,225, the Union Health Ministry said on Sunday.
The single-day recoveries on an average for the last few days have been more than 90,000, the ministry said underlining, "This high rate of daily recoveries has sustained India's leading global position as the country with the maximum number of recovered cases."
A total of 92,043 recoveries have been registered in a span of 24 hours in the country, while 88,600 new infections were recorded during the same period, according to the data updated at 8 am.
"Maintaining its upward trend, the national recovery rate presently has risen to 82.46 per cent," the ministry highlighted.
A total of 92,043 new COVID-19 recoveries have been reported in the last 24 hours in the country, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Sunday.
The Ministry informed that 76 per cent of the new recovered cases are from 10 States and Union Territories.
"92,043 new recoveries have been reported in the last 24 hours in the country. 76 per cent of the new recovered cases are found in 10 States and UTs," said the Ministry.
Maharashtra has contributed more than 23,000 COVID-19 recoveries, followed by Andhra Pradesh with more than 9,000 cases.
While 77 per cent of the newly reported cases were from 10 States and UTs. Maharashtra continues to lead this tally and contributed more than 20,000 cases followed by Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh with more than 8,000 and 7,000 cases respectively.
Adar Poonawalla, the CEO of the Serum Institute of India - the world's largest manufacturer of vaccines by volume and which is conducting trials of Covid vaccine candidates ahead of mass production - took to Twitter today to highlight challenges in vaccine production and distribution in the country.
"Quick question: will the Government of India have 80,000 crores available over the next one year? Because that is what the Ministry of Health needs to buy and distribute the vaccine to everyone in India. This is the next concerning challenge we need to tackle," Mr Poonawalla said.
India can help in bringing the world out of the coronavirus crisis with mass vaccine distribution once all trials are completed successfully, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said today in his virtual address to the United Nations General Assembly or UNGA. He asked the UN to do more in the fight against the pandemic.
He said India was moving ahead with Phase-3 clinical trials - the large-scale trials considered the gold standard for determining safety and efficacy - and would help all countries enhance their cold chain and storage capacities for the delivery of vaccines.