83 more die in Punjab, 33 in Haryana as India witnesses 2.59 lakh more Covid cases

New Delhi, April 20

India’s total tally of Covid cases climbed to 1,53,21,089 with 2,59,170 new coronavirus infections being reported in a day, while active cases surpassed the 20-lakh mark, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday.

The death toll increased to 1,80,530 with a record 1,761 daily new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.

Registering a steady increase for the 41st day in a row, the active cases increased to 20,31,977, comprising 13.26 per cent of the total infections, while the national Covid recovery rate has dropped to 85.56 per cent.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,31,08,582, while the case fatality rate has further dropped to 1.18 per cent, the data stated.

According to the ICMR, 26,94,14,035 samples have been tested up to April 19 with 15,19,486 samples being tested on Monday. 

The 1,716 new fatalities include 351 from Maharashtra, 240 from Delhi, 175 from Chhattisgarh, 167 from Uttar Pradesh, 146 from Karnataka, 117 from Gujarat, 83 from Punjab, 79 from Madhya Pradesh, 53 from Rajasthan, 46 from Jharkhand, 44 from Tamil Nadu, 41 from Bihar and 38 from West Bengal and 33 from Haryana.

A total of 1,80,530 deaths have been reported so far in the country, including 60,824 from Maharashtra, 13,497 from Karnataka, 13,157 from Tamil Nadu, 12,361 from Delhi, 10,606 from West Bengal, 9,997 from Uttar Pradesh, 7,985 from Punjab and 7,437 from Andhra Pradesh. PTI