India recorded 11,106 new cases of the novel coronavirus, along with 459 deaths due to the infection in the past 24 hours. According to the data shared by the Union Health Ministry on Friday, the country saw a total of 12,789 discharges in the last 24 hours, taking the total recovery rate at around 98.28 per cent which is the highest since March 2020 and total recoveries data reached to 3,38,97,921.The total active cases of COVID-19 in India have declined to 1,26,620, the ministry data showed today. More than 115.23 crore vaccine doses have been administered so far under the Nationwide Vaccination Drive.According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 62,93,87,540 samples have been tested up to November 18 for COVID-19. Of these 11,38,699 samples were tested on Thursday.The total death toll in the country is now at 4,65,082. In India, the first death due to the COVID pandemic was reported in March 2020.As per the information provided by the Ministry of Health, the active caseload account for less than 1 per cent of the total cases, currently at 0.37% – lowest since March 2020. Meanwhile, Kerala recorded 6,111 fresh coronavirus infections and 372 deaths on Thursday, raising the caseload to 50,84,095 and the toll of fatalities to 36,847. With 7,202 more people recovering from the virus since Wednesday, the total number touched 49,84,328 and the active cases dropped to 62,288, an official press release said.Of the 372 deaths, 51 were reported over the last few days and 321 were designated as COVID-19 deaths after receiving appeals based on the new guidelines of the Centre and the directions of the Supreme Court, the release said. As many as 66,693 samples were tested in the last 24 hours, it said.Among the 14 districts, Thiruvananthapuram recorded the highest with 848 cases followed by Ernakulam (812) and Kozhikode (757). Of the new cases, 33 were health workers, 22 from outside the State and 5,664 infected through contact with the source of it not being clear in 392.There are currently 2,05,822 people under surveillance in various districts, of whom 2,00,635 are in home or institutional quarantine and 5,187 in hospitals, added the release.
