India confirms nearly 100,000 coronavirus cases in last 24 hours; total cases jump to 5.2 million

With nearly 100,000 fresh cases in the last 24 hours, the total coronavirus infections in the country rose over 5.2 million on Friday. 

According to the latest updates by the health ministry, there were 96,424 new confirmed cases, taking the total count to 5,214,678. Also, the death toll jumped to 84,372 with 1,174 new fatalities. 

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Since early August, India is recording the highest single-day cases and is now on course in terms of the number of infections to cross the worst-hit US. 

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However, at 1.62 per cent, the fatality rate in the country is comparatively low. 

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Thursday told the Parliament that India's mortality rate is the lowest in the world and the country aims to bring it down to less than one per cent. 

On Thursday, the health ministry said that only three states of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh account to 48.5 per cent of the active cases in the country. And if states of Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are taken, this per cent rises to 60 per cent. 

Meanwhile, the total number of cases across the globe have gone past 30 million and 944, 877 people have died of Covid-19, according to the tally by John Hopkins University.