The country recorded 2,34,650 new COVID-19 cases on Monday.
The total number of infections has reached 3.95 crore and the active cases have crossed the 22.4-lakh mark.
The figures are based on the State bulletins released until 10 p.m. on Monday.
However, Ladakh, Haryana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Lakshadweep had not yet released data for the day.
Karnataka recorded 46,426 infections followed by Tamil Nadu (30,215) and Maharashtra (28,286).
Total death toll
On Monday, 397 deaths were recorded, considerably higher than the average levels recorded in the last week.
The number of recorded fatalities has reached 4,89,903.
Tamil Nadu reported the most deaths (46) followed by Punjab (39) and West Bengal (37).
On Sunday, 14.7 lakh tests were conducted (the results of which were made available on Monday). The test positivity rate (the number of cases detected per 100 tests) was 15.9%.
As of Monday, 91.5% of the eligible population has been vaccinated with at least one dose while 67.6% have received both doses. In the 15-17 age cohort, 57.6% have received their first dose.
Altogether, 93,20,86,639 first doses, 68,83,08,215 second doses, and 84,17,101 booster doses have been administered across India.
Andhra Pradesh has again witnessed its highest daily test positivity rate of 36.09% as 14,532 fresh cases of COVID-19 were reported in the 24-hours ending Monday morning.
Only 40,266 samples were tested in the past day. During the same period, seven deaths were reported.
The highest daily test positivity rate in the second wave was only 25.81% when about 45,000 samples were tested.
When the second wave hit the peak of 24,000 infections a day, the daily test positivity rate was around 25% with over one lakh samples tested every day.
However, since the third wave began in the last week of December, the daily test positivity rate increased exponentially from a mere 0.3% to 36% in about 30 days.
Mumbai on Monday registered around 90% drop in daily positive COVID-19 cases in the last two weeks with only 1857 cases being reported.
Testing drops
According to the data from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the city had registered 20,971 positive cases on January 7, highest in the third wave.
The number of tests then was 72,442 and six deaths were recorded.
The percentage of beds occupied from the available lot was 18.3%.
On Monday, the city recorded only 1,857 cases from 34,301 tests and 11 deaths.
The percentage of beds occupied stands at 10.2%.
