India registered 7,145 new COVID-19 cases, with the total number of cases standing at 3,47,33,194, as the active cases in the country came down to 84,565, reported the Union health ministry data updated on Saturday.

The fatalities increased to 4,77,158 as 289 more deaths were added to the tally, according to the data updated at 8 am on the day. The daily increase in new COVID-19 cases has been below 15,000 for the last 51 days. The active cases now constitute 0.24% of the total infections, the lowest since March last year, and the COVID-19 recovery rate across the country stands at 98.38%, the highest since March last year, stated the ministry. The daily positivity rate stood at 0.57%... (ET Healthworld – PTI, December 18, 2021)