India COVID-19 Cases: 78,524 fresh COVID-19 cases in India, 68.35 lakh total cases so far; 971 deaths in 24 hours, 1,05,526 total deaths

India's Covid Tally At 68.3 Lakh; 78,524 New Cases, 971 Deaths In 24 Hours

India COVID-19 Updates: Total 8.3 crore Covid samples tested in India till October 7, as per data.

New Delhi: India recorded 78,524 new cases of coronavirus and 971 deaths in the last 24 hours, taking India's COVID-19 tally past the 68-lakh mark, shows the Health Ministry data released this morning. A total of 83,011 people also successfully fought off the viral disease in the last 24 hours. According to the government figures, total Covid cases in India now stand at 68,35,655, including 9,02,427 active cases, 58,27,704 recoveries and 1,05,526 deaths. India's recovery rate increased marginally to 85.3 per cent, death rate stood steady at 1.5 per cent and daily positivity rate increased to 6.5 per cent as almost 12 lakh tests were conducted in the last 24 hours.

Here are the top 10 updates on coronavirus cases:

Health minister Harsh Vardhan has said India's rising recovery rate and progressively falling active cases have proven the success of the Centre-led COVID-19 containment strategy.
More than 8.3 crore tests have been conducted in India till now, as per the government's "test, track and treat" policy, the Health Ministry tweeted.
Most new Covid cases, about 18 per cent of all cases in the country, were reported from Maharashtra (14,578), followed by almost 11,000 new cases in Karnataka, then Kerala with more than 10,000 cases, with Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, both, reporting about 5,000 cases each. These states together accounted for almost 60 per cent of all cases reported in the country.
With 335 deaths, Maharashtra also reported the most Covid fatalities in the 24-hour period, followed by Karnataka (113), Tamil Nadu (67), West Bengal (58) and Uttar Pradesh (47). Together these states account for 640 deaths, or 66 per cent of all Covid fatalities in the country.
Maharashtra, which has recorded a total of 15 lakh Covid cases till now - highest in the country - has also become the first state to regulate the rates of face masks during COVID-19 pandemic and a formal order will soon be issued. Health Minister Rajesh Tope confirmed that now prices of N-95 maks will be available for around Rs 19 to Rs 50 depending on the type, while the double and triple layer masks will be available for just Rs 3 to Rs 4.
Kerala, which recorded more than 10,000 new coronavirus cases today - its highest single-day count so far - has banned large gatherings in capital Thiruvananthapuram till October 31.
The IRCTC has said it will restart the first set of "private" Tejas Express trains from October 17. Every alternate seat on the Lucknow-New Delhi and Ahmedabad-Mumbai trains will be kept vacant; passengers will be thermally screened before entering the coach; they will not be allowed to exchange seats. They will be given a "COVID-19 protection kit" and wearing a mask would be compulsory.
After US, which has 75 lakh coronavirus cases, India is the second worst-hit country by the coronavirus pandemic, followed by Brazil.
Brazil passed the mark of 5 million confirmed COVID-19 cases on Wednesday as it approached 1.5 lakh deaths in the second most deathly coronavirus outbreak outside the United States which has recorded more than 2 lakh Covid deaths.
As the world battles coronavirus, the head of the World Health Organization said on Tuesday a vaccine against COVID-19 may be ready by year-end. Nine experimental vaccines are in the line-up of the WHO-led COVAX global vaccine facility that aims to distribute 2 billion doses by the end of 2021.