India reported 1,20,529 fresh COVID-19 cases, the lowest single-day rise in infections in around two months, taking the infection tally to 2,86,94,879, according to the Union health ministry data updated on Saturday.
The death toll from COVID-19 climbed to 3,44,082 with 3,380 new fatalities, while the number of active cases was recorded below 20 lakh for the fifth consecutive day, the data updated at 8 am showed.
The daily new cases are the lowest in 58 days, the ministry said.
A total of 20,84,421 tests were conducted on Friday taking the total cumulative tests conducted so far for the detection of COVID-19 in the country to 36,11,74,142.
The daily positivity rate further dipped to 5.78 per cent, less than 10 per cent for 12th consecutive day, the ministry said.
The weekly positivity rate has declined to 6.89 per cent, it said.
The active case count has reduced to 15,55,248, which comprises 5.73 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has improved to 93.08 per cent, the data showed.
The number of recoveries continue to outnumber daily new cases for 23 consecutive days.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 2,67,95,549, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.19 per cent, the data stated.
The 3,380 new fatalities include 1,377 from Maharashtra, 364 from Karnataka, 463 from Tamil Nadu, 136 from Uttar Pradesh, 135 from Kerala, 113 from West Bengal.
A total of 3,44,082 coronavirus-related deaths have been reported so far in the country including 98,771 from Maharashtra, 30,895 from Karnataka, 26,128 from Tamil Nadu, 24,497 from Delhi, 21,031 from Uttar Pradesh, 16,034 from West Bengal, 14,927 from Punjab and 13,162 from Chhattisgarh.
The health ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.
'Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research,' the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.
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. India crossed the grim milestone of 2 crore COVID-19 cases on May 4.
