COVID-19 update: India reports 42,618 new cases with Kerala adding 29,322 infections

India reported 42,618 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, taking the overall tally to 3,29,45,907, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Saturday. This is a drop of 6% from yesterday's number. The death toll climbed to 4,40,225 with 330 fresh fatalities, according to the data.

Kerala continued to register a record number of infections with the state reporting 29,322 new cases and 131 deaths. The state has reported a test positivity rate of 17.91%.

Maharashtra reported 4,313 cases and 92 fatalities in the last 24 hours. There are now 50,466 active COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra and the state's case recovery rate stands at 97.04% while the fatality rate is 2.12%.

Delhi's COVID-19 caseload reached 14,37,874 with the national capital reporting 35 new infections in the last 24 hours. No fresh deaths were reported in the city for the third consecutive day, according to data shared by the city health department. However, hospitals in the national capital have been reporting a rise in the numbers of mucormycosis cases in COVID-19 recovered patients.

The active cases registered an increase for the fourth consecutive day with 5,903 new cases reported in a span of 24 hours. The active cases increased to 4,05,681 comprising 1.23% of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 97.43%, the ministry said.

The daily positivity rate was recorded at 2.50% and the weekly positivity rate was 2.63%. It has been below three percent for the last 71 days.