COVID-19: India records 15,968 new cases, 202 deaths
New Delhi: India's COVID-19 caseload rose to 1,04,95,147 with 15,968 infections being reported in a day, while the recoveries surged to 1,01,29,111 pushing the national recovery rate to 96.51 percent, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday.
The death toll increased to 1,51,529 with 202 daily new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,01,29,111 pushing the national COVID-19 recovery rate to 96.51 percent, while the COVID-19 case fatality rate stands at 1.44 percent.
The COVID-19 active caseload remained below 3 lakh.
There are 2,14,507 active cases of coronavirus infections in the country which comprises 2.04 percent of the total caseload, the data stated.
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 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.
According to the ICMR, 18,34,89,114 samples have been tested up to January 12 with 8,36,227 samples being tested on Tuesday.
The 202 new fatalities include 50 from Maharashtra, 25 from Kerala, 18 from West Bengal, and 16 from Delhi.
A total of 151529 deaths have been reported so far in the country including 50,151 from Maharashtra followed by 12,236 from Tamil Nadu, 12,149 from Karnataka, 10,707 from Delhi, 9,975 from West Bengal, 8,514 from Uttar Pradesh, 7,133 from Andhra Pradesh, and 5,456 from Punjab.
The health ministry stressed that more than 70 percent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.
"Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research," the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.
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Karnataka HC permits Bangalore Hotel Association to serve free food to voters after polling
Bengaluru: The High Court has given the go-ahead to the Bangalore Hotel Association to serve food for free to customers who visit the member-restaurants after casting their votes in the Lok Sabha elections in the city.
The single-judge bench of the High Court, consisting of Justice M Nagaprasanna, heard the case on Wednesday and gave a judgement in favour of the Association.
The Association, which has come up with the offer in coordination with Hotel Nisarga Grand, had clarified earlier that it was offering free food to customers in order to promote voting and help Bengaluru record a high voter turnout. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), however, had challenged in court the Association's application seeking permission to give free food to customers who have voted.
The advocate representing the Association during the hearing on Wednesday told the High Court that the offer was not made to customers with an intention of political gain but only aimed at promoting voter turnout on the day of polling. "The Association has given free food to the voters after polling and requests the High Court to permit it to do so this year too," the lawyer asked the bench.
Justice Nagaprasanna, who heard the arguments presented by both parties, opined that the efforts of the Association at ensuring a high voter turnout were laudable. He passed a judgement permitting hotel owners who were members of the Association to provide voters food for free after they cast their ballots.
