India reported 24,337 fresh cases of coronavirus and 333 deaths on Monday, according to the Union health ministry. The number of people who have recovered from the disease surged to 96,06,111, pushing the national recovery rate to 95.53 per cent, while the coronavirus case fatality rate stands at 1.45 per cent, according to the data.

The health ministry has said that with only 351 average daily Covid-19 fatalities reported between December 14-20, India continues to have one of the lowest deaths per million. A week earlier, from December 7-3, 450 average daily Covid-19 deaths were reported. “#IndiaFightsCorona India has one of the lowest deaths/mn population globally (105.4). Focussed measures including targeted testing, early identification, timely isolation & prompt hospitalization & Standard Treatment Protocol have ensured that daily fatalities are under 400,” it tweeted on Monday.

India’s active caseload dropped to 303,639 on Monday and the Health Ministry has said this is due to the trend of recoveries exceeding new cases and a low number of fatalities per day. It had said on Sunday that 10 states and Union territories account for 66% of the total active cases in the country.

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.

The difference in recoveries and active Covid-19 cases is at 9,302,472 and the recovery rate is 95.53% on Monday. On Sunday, 74.68% of the new recovered cases were concentrated in 10 states and Union territories. Kerala reported the maximum number of single-day recoveries with 4,749 newly recovered cases, 3,119 people recovered in Maharashtra followed by 2,717 in West Bengal on Sunday, according to the health ministry.

Union health minister Harsh Vardhan has said India may begin vaccinating people against Covid-19 in January and the government’s first priority has been the safety and efficacy of the vaccine. He also said that the Centre has been working with the state governments for the last four months for preparations regarding Covid-19 vaccination in the country.