NEW DELHI: India logged 7,145 new coronavirus infections taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 3,47,33,194, while the active cases declined to 84,565, according to the Union health ministry data updated on Saturday.
The death toll climbed to 4,77,158 with 289 more fatalities, according to the data updated at 8 am.
The daily rise in new coronavirus infections has been recorded below 15,000 for the last 51 days now.
The active cases comprise 0.24 per cent of the total infections, the lowest since March 2020, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.38 per cent, the highest since March 2020, the health ministry said.
A decline of 1,850 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.
The daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.57 per cent.
It has been less than 2 per cent for last 75 days.
The weekly positivity rate was recorded at 0.62 per cent.
It has been below 1 per cent for the last 34 days, according to the health ministry.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 3,41,71,471, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.37 per cent.
The cumulative doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive has exceeded 136.66 crore.
India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16.
It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.
India crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 and three crore on June 23.
The 289 new fatalities include 243 from Kerala and 12 from Maharashtra.
Kerala has been reconciling its Covid fatalities for the last few days.
Therefore, the death toll of the state is high.
A total of 4,77,158 deaths have been reported so far in the country, including Ex-SC judge who probed Godhra, anti-Sikh riots passes away at 86
NEW DELHI: Former Supreme Court judge Justice Girish Thakorlal Nanavati, who investigated the 1984 anti-Sikh and the 2002 Godhra riots, passed away on Saturday.
He was 86.
The former Supreme Court judge died of a cardiac failure at 1.15pm on Saturday in Gujarat, family members said.
Nanavati, born on February 17, 1935, was enrolled as an advocate in the Bombay high court on February 11, 1958.
He was appointed as permanent Judge of the Gujarat high court from July 19, 1979, and transferred to the Orissa High Court on December 14, 1993.
Nanavati was appointed as the chief justice of the Orissa high court with effect from January 31, 1994.
He was transferred as Chief Justice of the Karnataka high court from September 28, 1994. Nanavati was appointed as judge of the Supreme Court with effect from March 6, 1995, and retired on February 16, 2000.
Justices Nanavati and Akshay Mehta had in 2014 submitted their final report on the 2002 riots to the then Gujarat chief minister Anandiben Patel. Over 1,000 people, mainly from the minority community, were killed in the violence.
The commission was appointed in 2002 by the then chief minister Narendra Modi to probe the riots, that took place after the burning of two coaches of the Sabarmati Express train near the Godhra railway station, in which 59 ‘karsevaks’ died.
Nanavati was appointed by the NDA government to probe the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. He was the sole member of the Nanavati commission.
—PTI

Press Trust of India