India has been grappling with COVID-19, like the rest of the world, and recently became the country with the fifth highest number of recorded cases. In what could come as some respite, on Wednesday, the number of patients who have recovered from COVID-19 was reported to be higher than the number of active cases i.e. those undergoing treatment for the disease.

In a first, the number of people who have recovered from COVID-19 were 1,35,206 – 1,574 more than the number of people who are undergoing treatment at 1,33,632. These numbers, revealed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, have been reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research.

So far, COVID-19 has taken 7,745 lives in the country. India has seen a total of 2,76,583 people being affected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, according to government figures. In the last 24 hours, India reported 279 deaths and 9,985 new coronavirus cases – making this the sixth consecutive day that the country has registered over 9,500 new COVID-19 patients in 24 hours.

Maharashtra has the highest population of coronavirus affected persons with 90,787 cases being recorded, of which 44,860 are still undergoing treatment.

Delhi has the second highest number of COVID-19 patients – out of a total of 31,309 people who tested coronavirus positive in the national capital, 18,543 are still being treated. 905 people have died, and 11,861 have recovered. Delhi is expecting 5.5 lakh cases by July 31 based on the current doubling rate, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said on Wednesday. The capital will require 80,000 beds by then, he added.

In the south, Tamil Nadu is the worst affected state and the third most affected in India, with 16,282 persons who are undergoing treatment. Overall, the state has recorded 34,914 COVID-19 cases, while 18,325 have recovered. 307 people have succumbed to the disease.