NEW DELHI — India on Tuesday reported more than 180,000 people were cured of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pushing its recovery rate to over 52%, according to data released by the health ministry.

The country has been reporting a rate of recovery of over 50% for the last three days now. With 180,012 people discharged from hospitals from across the country, India’s recovery rate is 52.46% on Tuesday.

On Monday, the recovery rate was a little over 51% as 169,797 patients were cured of the deadly infection and it was 50.59% on Sunday.

There were 10,667 new COVID-19 cases and 380 deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the country’s tally to at 343,091, according to the health ministry. The death toll is 9,900.

According to the health ministry’s dashboard, the number of active cases of the disease in the country stands at 153,178.

The dashboard shows 56,049 COVID-19 patients were cured in Maharashtra, which is the worst-hit state and has reported 110,744 infections and 4,128 deaths so far. There are 50,567 active cases of the respiratory disease in the state.

Tamil Nadu, which on Monday announced a lockdown from June 19 to 30 in its worst-affected districts, has reported 46,504 infections and 479 deaths till date. The number of those cure stands at 25,344.

Its decision to announced the lockdown came after an expert panel warned the government that the state has hit its peak, but may witness another if strict measures aren’t followed.

Delhi has 42,829 COVID-19 cases and reported 1,400 fatalities as the Center stepped up efforts to contain the spread and management of the infections in the national capital. In Gujarat, there are 24,055 infections so far and 1,505 deaths.

The Center wants states witnessing a large number of COVID-19 cases to keep the death rate, or the case fatality rate low. The emphasis on lowering death rates is in keeping with the government’s new strategy of not so much flattening the curve of infections, but living with the virus.

Top government officials familiar with the thinking said that while aggressive testing, door-to-door surveys to track COVID-19 cases, and efforts to strengthen infrastructure will continue, there will be a renewed focus on keeping the death rate low. — Agencies