Lucknow, Jan 17 (PTI) With six more fatalities, the lowest in a 24-hour period so far, the death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 8,576 in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday, while the infection tally climbed to 5,96,528 with 404 fresh cases, officials said.

This was the lowest number deaths caused by the viral disease in a span of 24 hours in Uttar Pradesh, they said, adding that on January 2, eight COVID-19 fatalities were reported in the state.

Briefing reporters here, Additional Chief Secretary (Medical and Health) Amit Mohan Prasad said 666 COVID-19 patients recovered from the disease in the state in the last 24 hours. With this, the total number recoveries went up to 5,79,071, he added.

The recovery rate of COVID-19 patients in the state is 97.07 per cent and the count of active cases stands at 8,881, the official said.

More than 2.62 crore samples have so far been tested for the viral disease in the state, including over 1.28 lakh on Saturday, he added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)