India records 34,113 new cases, 346 deaths; active count now below 5 lakh

India on Monday added 34,113 fresh infections of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), taking the nationwide tally to 4,26,65,534, while the active case count dropped below 5 lakh after around 37 days, according to data shared by the Union health ministry.

A total of 346 new fatalities pushed the country’s death toll to 5,09,011, the data updated at 8am showed. The deaths included 146 from Kerala and 27 each from Karnataka and West Bengal.

Active cases declined to 4,78,882, comprising 1.12 per cent of the total infections. At the same time, 91,930 people were discharged in the last 24 hours, improving India’s recovery rate to 97.68 per cent, the ministry said.

Daily Covid cases have remained below the 1-lakh mark for eight consecutive days now. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 3.19 per cent and the weekly positivity rate stood at 3.99 per cent.

Of the 5,09,011 deaths reported in the country so far, 1,43,404 were from Maharashtra, 62,199 from Kerala, 39,640 from Karnataka, 37,915 from Tamil Nadu, 26,072 from Delhi, 23,398 from Uttar Pradesh and 21,017 from West Bengal.

More than 1.72 billion doses have been administered in the country under the nationwide Covid-19 vaccination drive, the ministry said.