India records 15,158 new COVID-19 cases

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan at AIIMS. Pic/PTI

India's COVID-19 caseload climbed to 1,05,42,841 on Saturday with 15,158 more people testing positive for the disease while recoveries surged to 1,01,79,715, according to the Union Health Ministry. The country's death toll increased to 1,52,093 with 175 more fatalities.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,01,79,715, pushing the national COVID-19 recovery rate to 96.56 per cent. The country's COVID-19 case fatality rate stands at 1.44 per cent.

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Saturday described the COVID-19 vaccines as ‘Sanjivani' in the fight against the infectious disease as he urged people not to pay heed to hearsay and instead believe in experts and scientists.

"It's a historic day. We have been blessed by the prime minister all through our fight against COVID-19. It's the largest Coronavirus vaccination programme in world," Vardhan told reporters at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi.

"We have been able to put up a valiant fight against the disease during the last one year. Adopting a preemptive and proactive strategy has resulted in very good performance by India. We have probably the lowest fatality rate in the world," he said.

1,05,42,841
Total number of cases in the country as of Saturday

1,52,093
Total no. of deaths due to the virus in India

1,01,79,715
Patients Recovered and discharged in India as of Saturday