Coronavirus cases: India records 22,273 new COVID-19 cases in 24 hours

New Delhi, Dec 26: Union health minister on Saturday said that India registered 22,273 new cases of COVID-19 and 251 deaths in a span of 24 hours. With over 22,000 fresh infections, the country's total tally has now surged to 10,169,118.

According to the health ministry, the number of people who have recuperated from coronavirus touched 97,40,108 with 22,274 new discharges in the last 24 hours, taking the national recovery rate to 95.78 per cent. The country's death toll is now at 1,47,343, while the fatalities rate stands at 1.45 per cent.

The country's active coronavirus cases have dropped further to 2.81 lakh. Now, there are 2,81,667 active coronavirus cases in the country, which comprises 2.77 per cent of the total tally.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 16,71,59,289 samples have been tested up to 25 December with 8,53,527 samples being tested on Friday.

In the past day, most COVID-related deaths were seen in Maharashtra, which is the second-highest in the country. On Friday, Maharashtra reported 3,431 new coronavirus infections and 71 new death in 24 hours. The state has maximum overall Covid cases 19,13,382, and fatalities 49,129 in India.

Meanwhile, the new COVID-19 variant that's been spreading in the United Kingdom appears to be more contagious and will likely lead to higher levels of hospitalizations and deaths next year, a new study showed.