New Delhi: India recorded less than 1,000 new COVID-19 cases for the first time in 715 days even as the virus tally rose to 4,30,29044, while the active infection count fell below 13,000, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday morning at 8 am.

The number of active cases is the lowest in 714 days, the data showed.13 new fatalities pushed the death toll from the pandemic to 5,21,358.

The active case count comprises 0.03 %  of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate remained at 98.76 % , Union Health ministry said.

India recorded COVID-19 cases below 1,000 for the first time since April 18, 2020 when 991 cases were reported. A reduction of 416 cases has been recorded in the number of active infections in a span of 24 hours.

India’s COVID-19 tally had surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19, 2020. The country crossed the grim milestone of two crore coronavirus cases on May 4 and three crore on June 23 last year.

According to the Health Ministry, the daily positivity rate recorded at 0.29 % and the weekly positivity rate at 0.22 %.

A total of 79.10 crore tests for the detection of COVID-19 have been conducted so far, including 3,14,823 in the last 24 hours.

The 13 new fatalities include 8 from Kerala. A total of 5,21,358 deaths linked to coronavirus have so far been reported in the country. This includes 1,47,789 from Maharashtra, 68,074 from Kerala, 40,054 from Karnataka, 38,025 from Tamil Nadu, 26,153 from Delhi, 23,496 from Uttar Pradesh and 21,199 from West Bengal.

Union Health Ministry stressed that more than 70 % of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities. “Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR),” the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.