DW BUREAU / chandigarh The novel coronavirus tally in Punjab rose to 18,527 on Monday with 677 new cases, while 19 more deaths took the toll to 442, the Health Department said. There are 6,203 active cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and 416 more patients were discharged, taking the number of recoveries to 11,882, according to the bulletin. Eight out of the 19 new deaths were from Ludhiana, three in Bathinda, two in Amritsar and one each in Barnala, Mohali, Sangrur, Patiala, Jalandhar and SBS Nagar districts, it said. The highest number of 186 new cases were from Ludhiana, followed by 118 in Bathinda, 115 in Jalandhar, 51 in Ferozepur, 34 each in Patiala and Gurdaspur, 29 in Amritsar and 22 in Moga districts, the department said. Eighteen patients are critical and are on ventilator support, while 148 are on oxygen support, the bulletin said. A total of 6,03,912 samples have been taken for testing so far in the state, it said. India's COVID-19 tally crossed the 18-lakh mark on Monday, just a day after it went past 17 lakh, with 52,972 cases reported in a day, while the number of recoveries surged to over 11.86 lakh, according to the Union Health Ministry data. The number of COVID-19 tests carried out in India has also crossed the 2 crore-mark, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). The total coronavirus cases surged to 18,03,695, while the death toll due to COVID-19 climbed to 38,135 with 771 people succumbing to the disease in a day, the data updated at 8 am showed. However, according to a PTI tally compiled by the data provided by various governments, the COVID-19 case tally stands at 18,49,850 with 38,921 fatalities.India's single-day spike of 52,972 reported Monday morning was more than the 24-hour case tally of the US and Brazil -- the only two countries that have more cases than India, according to various global COVID-19 tracking websites. There are 5,79,357 active cases of coronavirus infection in India at present while the recoveries have increased to 11,86,203, according to health ministry data. As many as 40,574 people recovered from COVID-19 in a day, according to the data.The COVID-19 recovery rate stands at 65.77 per cent, while the fatality rate is at 2.11 per cent, the data stated. India has carried out over two crore tests for detection of COVID-19 pursuant to the key strategy of "test aggressively, track efficiently and isolate and treat promptly", the government said, hailing the milestone as a "landmark achievement." This is the fifth consecutive day that COVID-19 cases have increased by more than 50,000 in the country. India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 17-lakh mark on Sunday. India continues to improve the Case Fatality Rate (CFR), and maintains its global position of having one of the lowest COVID fatalities rates, the health ministry said. "With a further fall, the current CFR touched 2.11 per cent today. This is the outcome of the well conceived and effectively implemented strategy of 'test, track and treat' which has guided the COVID management in the country," it said. The management strategy of COVID-19 also focuses on early detection and isolation of cases with seamless patient management and prioritising care of the high-risk population using field health care workers leading to increase in recoveries across the country, the ministry said. The health ministry issued COVID-19-appropriate protocols to be followed at such facilities like allowing only asymptomatic people. (editor@dailyworld.in)