COVID-19: India reports sharp rise in new cases, 440 deaths in last 24 hrs

New Delhi: As many as 35,178 people tested positive for the novel Coronavirus in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of infections to 3,22,85,857, Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday.

Besides, the country also saw 440 fatalities due to the virus in the same period, pushing the death toll to 4,32,519, according to the ministry's data.

The active cases declined to 3,81,947, the lowest in 148 days. It is now 1.14 per cent of the total caseload, the lowest since March 2020.

On the positive front, 37,169 patients were cured and discharged in the past one day, taking the total recovery count to 3,14,85,923, which is 97.52 per cent of the case tally. The fatality rate remained steady at 1.34 per cent.

Meanwhile, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said that a total of 49,84,27,083 samples have been tested so far for coronavirus, of which 17,97,559 were tested on Tuesday.

Till now, 56,06,52,030 people have been administered COVID-19 vaccines, with 55,05,075 being inoculated against the virus in the past 24 hours.

Kerala reported the highest 127 deaths in the past 24 hours, followed by Maharashtra (116).

On Tuesday, the country saw 25,166 COVID cases and 437 deaths. (UNI)