India records 24,492 new coronavirus cases, 131 deaths in 24 hours

India recorded 24,492 new COVID-19 cases, registering more than 20,000 cases for the sixth day in a row, taking the infection tally past 1.14 crore, the Union health ministry said on Tuesday.

The total cases in the country rose to1,14,09,831, while the death toll increased to 1,58,856, with 131 fresh fatalities, the ministry data updated at 8 am showed.

Registering a spike in cases for the sixth day in a row, the total active caseload has increased to2,23,432, which now comprises1.96per cent of the total infections. The recovery rate has further dropped to 96.65 per cent, it said.

As many as 26,624 new infections were recorded in a span of 24 hours on December 20.

Thenumber of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,10,27,543, while the case fatality rate dropped to 1.39 per cent, the data stated.

India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7 last year,30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and50 lakh on September 16. It went past60 lakh on September 28,70 lakh on October 11, 80 lakh on October 29,90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 22,82,80,763 samples have been tested up to March 15,with8,73,350 samples tested on Monday.