India's COVID-19 tally reached 16,95,988 on Saturday with a record single-day increase of 57,118 cases, while the recoveries surged to 10,94,374, according to the Union health ministry data.
The death toll due to COVID-19 climbed to 36,511 with 764 people succumbing to the disease in a 24-hour span, the data updated at 8 am showed.
At present, there are 5,65,103 active cases in the country.
The recovery rate among COVID-19 patients was recorded at 64.53 per cent, while the fatality rate further dropped to 2.15 per cent, the data stated.
This is the third consecutive day that COVID-19 cases have increased by more than 50,000. The total number of confirmed cases also includes foreigners.
According to the Indian Council of Medical Research, a cumulative total of 1,93,58,659 samples have been tested up to July 31 with 5, 25,689 being tested on Friday.
Of the new 764 deaths reported, 265 are from Maharashtra, 97 from Tamil Nadu, 84 from Karnataka, 68 from Andhra Pradesh, 45 from West Bengal, 43 from Uttar Pradesh, 27 from Delhi, 23 from Gujarat, 16 from Punjab, 14 each from Bihar and Telangana, 12 from Jammu and Kashmir and 11 from Rajasthan, the data stated.
Ten fatalities have been reported from Madhya Pradesh, eight from Odisha, four each from Assam, Haryana and Uttarakhand, three each from Goa, Jharkhand, Kerala, two from Chhattisgarh while Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Manipur and Puducherry recorded one fatality each.
Of the total 36,511 deaths, Maharashtra has reported the maximum at 14,994, followed by 3,963 in Delhi, 3,935 in Tamil Nadu, 2,441 in Gujarat, 2,314 in Karnataka, 1,630 in Uttar Pradesh, 1,581 in West Bengal, 1,349 in Andhra Pradesh and 867 in Madhya Pradesh, the data showed.
So far, 674 people have died of COVID-19 in Rajasthan, 519 in Telangana, 421 in Haryana, 386 in Punjab, 377 in Jammu and Kashmir, 296 in Bihar, 177 in Odisha, 106 in Jharkhand, 98 in Assam, 80 in Uttarakhand, 73 in Kerala, according to the health ministry data.
Chhattisgarh has registered 53 deaths, Puducherry 49, Goa 45, Tripura 21, Chandigarh 15, Himachal Pradesh 14, Ladakh seven, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur and Andaman and Nicobar Islands five each, Arunachal Pradesh three, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu two and Sikkim one, it said.
The health ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to co-morbidities.
"Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research," the ministry said, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.
