India records 21,821 fresh COVID-19 cases, 299 deaths in a day; active cases remain below 3 lakh

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India's COVID-19 caseload rose to 1,02,66,674 with 21,821 new infections being reported in a day, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday. The death toll increased to 1,48,738 with 299 new fatalities while the number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 98,60,280 lakh with 26,139 new discharge, the data updated at 8 am showed.

The national recovery rate to 96.04 per cent, while the COVID-19 case fatality rate stands at 1.45 per cent.

The COVID-19 active caseload remained below 3 lakh for the tenth consecutive day. There are 2,57,656 active cases of coronavirus infections in the country which comprises 2.51 per cent of the total caseload, the data stated.

Kerala has reported 65,572 active COVID-19 cases while Maharashtra has reported 54,206 active cases. Delhi has reported 5,838 active cases, 6,08,434 recoveries and 10,523 fatalities.

In a major development, terming the approval for Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for use in the UK as a "big step forward", AIIMS Delhi Director Dr Randeep Guleria on Wednesday said that India will have the COVID-19 vaccine within days.

According to the ICMR, 17,20,49,274 samples have been tested up to December 30 with 11,27,244 samples being tested on Wednesday.