India reported over 1 lakh coronavirus recoveries in a single-day for the first time, improving the recovery rate to 80.86 per cent, while fresh cases also dropped below 76,000 after two weeks, according to the health ministry data updated on Tuesday.
The data updated at 8 am showed that during the past 24 hours, 1,01,468 COVID-19 patients recuperated, while 75,809 new cases were recorded, pushing the overall figures to 55,62,663 infections and 44,97,867 recoveries.
Also, 1,053 patients died during the period, taking the cumulative death figures to 88,935, the data showed, reporting a COVID-19 case fatality rate of 1.60 per cent.
There are 9,75,861 active coronavirus cases in the country, which make 17.54 per cent of the total caseload, the data stated.
India's single-day coronavirus cases had dipped below 76,000 on September 8 also, when 75,809 cases were reported.
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 it went past 50 lakh on September 16.
According to the Indian Council of Medical Research, a cumulative 6,53,25,779 samples have been tested up to September 21 --9,33,185 of them on Monday.
The 1,053 new deaths include 344 from Maharashtra, 122 from Karnataka, 88 from Uttar Pradesh, 62 from West Bengal, 60 from Tamil Nadu, 51 from Andhra Pradesh, 47 from Punjab, 37 from Madhya Pradesh and 32 from Delhi.
A total of 88,935 deaths reported so far includes 33,015 from Maharashtra, followed by 8,871 from Tamil Nadu, 8,145 from Karnataka, 5,410 from Andhra Pradesh, 5,135 from Uttar Pradesh, 5,014 from Delhi, 4,421 from West Bengal, 3,336 from Gujarat, 2,860 from Punjab and 2,007 from Madhya Pradesh.
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 on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.