Former president Pranab Mukherjee said on Monday that he has tested positive for COVID-19. "On a visit to the hospital for a separate procedure, I have tested positive for COVID-19 today," he tweeted. The tweet came as India registered a record 1,007 fatalities in the past 24 hours as fresh coronavirus infections surged by another 62,064 cases, the health ministry said. The ministry said the total fatalities touched 44,386. The number of positive cases reported so far are 2.22 million. At least 634,935 patients were still undergoing treatment. India has recorded more than 60,000 cases of the virus daily in the last four days and more infections than any other country in the world for six consecutive days. It has averaged around 50,000 new cases a day since mid-June. Infections in India remain concentrated in 10 states that contribute nearly 80 percent of the new cases. India has the third-highest caseload in the world after the United States and Brazil. It has the fifth-most deaths but its fatality rate of about 2 percent is far lower than the top two hardest-hit countries. — Agencies
