India records 2.59 lakh cases

NEW DELHI, Apr 20:
India’s total tally of COVID-19 cases climbed to 1,53,21,089 with 2,59,170 new Coronavirus infections being reported in a day, while active cases surpassed the 20-lakh mark, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated today.
The death toll increased to 1,80,530 with a record 1,761 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.
Registering a steady increase for the 41st day in a row, the active cases increased to 20,31,977, comprising 13.26 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has dropped to 85.56 per cent.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,31,08,582, while the case fatality rate has further dropped to 1.18 per cent, the data stated.
India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16.It went past  60 lakh on September 28,  70 lakh on  October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29,  90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.
According to the ICMR, 26,94,14,035 samples have been tested up to April 19 with 15,19,486 samples being tested on Monday.
The 1,716 new fatalities include 351 from Maharashtra,  240 from Delhi, 175 from Chhattisgarh, 167 from Uttar Pradesh, 146 from Karnataka, 117 from Gujarat, 83 from Punjab, 79 from  Madhya Pradesh,  53 from Rajasthan, 46 from Jharkhand, 44 from Tamil Nadu, 41 from Bihar and 38 from West Bengal and 33 from Haryana. (PTI)