With 78,524 new cases, India's COVID-19 tally crosses 68-lakh mark

The total number of coronavirus cases in India has crossed the 68-lakh mark with a spike of 78,524 new cases and 971 deaths reported in the last 24 hours, as of Thursday morning.

India's COVID-19 case tally has increased to 68,35,656 out of which 9,02,425 are active cases, 58,27,705 have been cured and discharged and 1,05,526 COVID patients have died due to the pandemic, the Union Health Ministry said.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 11,94,321 samples have been tested for COVID-19 on Wednesday. A total of 8,34,65,975 samples have been tested in the country up to October 7.

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Meanwhile, the Union Health Ministry stated that India's COVID-19 recoveries have witnessed a steep exponential rise - from 50,000 in May to over 57 lakh in October.

A high level of more than 75,000 recoveries is being reported every day. The recoveries are 6.3 times the active cases (currently 13.4 percent of total cases).

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Kolkata decided not to hold pujas in a grand way

Ahead of Durga Puja, the West Bengal government has decided not to hold pujas in a grand way. West Bengal Power Minister Sovandeb Chatterjee said that "This year, big-budget Durga pujas in Kolkata have decided not to hold pujas in a grand way. During a meeting, the committees' representatives said that they will be using less power in pandals compared to previous years."

"The decision by the committees has been taken to avoid huge crowds in pandals in view of COVID-19 pandemic," Sovandeb Chatterjee said.

-PTC News