Fresh infections of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in the country fell below the 20,000-mark as 19,740 people tested positive for the viral illness, the Union ministry of health and family welfare (MoHFW) said on Saturday. This is a fall of a little over 7 per cent from yesterday, when the daily case count stood at 21,257.

After this latest rise, the cumulative Covid-19 infection tally was at 33,935,309, data showed.

Also, as per Saturday's data, 23,070 more patients were discharged after recovering, taking the total number of such cases to 33,248,291, with the recovery rate rising to 97.98 per cent. The recovery rate is at its highest since March last year, the Union health ministry noted in a statement. The number of fatalities due to the infection rose to 450,375, as 248 more patients succumbed to it. Deaths constitute 1.33 per cent of the overall caseload.

The number of active patients, meanwhile, slumped further to 236,643, registering a fall of 3578 cases, the bulletin showed. This is their lowest count in 206 days, while their contribution in the national tally, at 0.70 per cent, is the lowest since March last year, the health ministry said.

Fresh infections of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in the country fell below the 20,000-mark as 19,740 people tested positive for the viral illness, the Union ministry of health and family welfare (MoHFW) said on Saturday. This is a fall of a little over 7 per cent from yesterday, when the daily case count stood at 21,257.

After this latest rise, the cumulative Covid-19 infection tally was at 33,935,309, data showed.

Also, as per Saturday's data, 23,070 more patients were discharged after recovering, taking the total number of such cases to 33,248,291, with the recovery rate rising to 97.98 per cent. The recovery rate is at its highest since March last year, the Union health ministry noted in a statement. The number of fatalities due to the infection rose to 450,375, as 248 more patients succumbed to it. Deaths constitute 1.33 per cent of the overall caseload.

The number of active patients, meanwhile, slumped further to 236,643, registering a fall of 3578 cases, the bulletin showed. This is their lowest count in 206 days, while their contribution in the national tally, at 0.70 per cent, is the lowest since March last year, the health ministry said.