India records 39,070 new Covid-19 cases, 491 deaths in the last 24 hours

India has reported 39,070 new cases and 491 deaths in the last 24 hours as per the health ministry’s August 8  update. The nationwide tally stands at 31,934,455, while the death toll climbed to 4,27,862. The active cases declined to 4,06,822 in the said time period, according to data released by the ministry at 8am. The country's recovery rate was recorded at 97.39. The number of active cases fell by 5331. Kerala remains the top contributor with daily cases breaching the 20,000-mark again.

Kerala has the highest number of active cases at 1,78,722 in the country followed by Maharashtra at 77,905, Karnataka at 24,354, Andhra Pradesh at 20,593 and Tamil Nadu at 20,185. Maharashtra reported the most 187 new deaths, as per the August 7 update, followed by Kerala (187), Odisha (66), Tamil Nadu (30),  Karnataka (36). 

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 31,099,771, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.34 per cent.  The daily positivity rate is at 2.27 per cent - less than 3 per cent for 13 straight days. India commenced its COVID-19 vaccination drive on January 16 this year. Till date 50, 68,10, 492 vaccine doses have been administered so far including 55,91,657 in the last 24 hours, under the nationwide vaccination drive.