India's COVID-19 case tally crossed the 56-lakh mark with a rise of 83,347 new cases on Wednesday. In the last 24 hours, 1,085 deaths were recorded in the country, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
The total case tally stands at 56,46,011 including 9,68,377 active cases and 45,87,614 cured and discharged or migrated patients. With 1,085 deaths the toll due to the disease stands at 90,020 in the country.
Meanwhile, as per the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 6,62,79,462 samples have been tested across the country up to September 22 for COVID-19. Out of these, 9,53,683 samples were tested yesterday.
India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and it went past 50 lakh on September 16. India is the second worst-hit nation in terms of COVID-19 cases after the US, while it is in the third spot in fatalities after the US and Brazil, according to Johns Hopkins University data. Even though India rallies behind the US for the total number of coronavirus cases, it has overtaken the country to become number one in terms of global recoveries.
Meanwhile, India's COVID-19 testing capacity has surged to more than 12 lakh daily tests, said Union Health Ministry on Wednesday.
"India's testing capacity has surged to more than 12L daily tests. Higher than 6.5 cr total tests have been conducted across the country. Higher testing leads to early identification of positive cases. As evidence revealed, eventually positivity rate will fall," Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) said in a tweet.
The Ministry said that several States/UTs have demonstrated better COVID-19 response with higher Tests Per Million (TPM) than the national average. "As India rides the wave of very HIGH testing, several States/UTs have demonstrated better #COVID19 response with higher Tests Per Million (TPM) and commensurate lower Positivity Rate than the national average," it said.
