Nearly 71 per cent of the 496 new COVID-19 fatalities reported in a span of 24 hours were from eight states and union territories with Delhi recording the highest number of 89 deaths followed by Maharashtra with 88 and West Bengal with 52, the Union health ministry said on Sunday. It said 22 states and UTs have recorded case fatality rates lower than the national average of 1.46 per cent.

The current active COVID-19 caseload of the country stands at 4,53,956, which comprises4.83 per cent of the total coronavirus infections reported so far. Maharashtra recorded the highest positive change with the addition of 1,940 cases, whereas Delhi recorded the highest negative change with a decrease of 1,603 active cases in a span of 24 hours, the ministry said.

A total 41,810 new confirmed COVID-19 cases have been registered in a span of 24 hours in the country, according to the data updated at 8 am on Sunday. The ministry said70.43 per cent of the daily new cases were contributed by eight states and UTs — Kerala, Maharashtra, Delhi, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Chhattisgarh.

Kerala leads the tally with 6,250 new COVID cases. Maharashtra recorded 5,965 new cases, while Delhi follows with 4,998 new infections. The number of COVID-19 recoveries in India stands at 88,02,267 with 42,298 recoveries being registered in a span of 24 hours in the country.

The ministry said 68.73 per cent of the new recovered cases were observed to be concentrated in eight states and UTs. Delhi has reported the highest number of 6,512 single-day recoveries followed by 5,275 in Kerala and 3,937 in Maharashtra, it said.

The COVID-19 infection tally in the country mounted to 93,92,919 on Sunday, while the death toll climbed to 1,36,696, the data showed.