New Delhi, March 3  Amid a worrying upward trend, India registered 14,989 new coronavirus cases and 98 fatalities in the last 24 hours, which pushed the overall infection tally and death toll to 1,11,39,516 and 1,57,346, respectively, the Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday.

As per the Ministry's data, there are currently 1,70,126 active cases after 13,123 patients were discharged in a day.

According to experts, a number of possibilities which could be attributed to the concerning situation ranging from lax attitude of people towards following Covid protocols to the likeability of "mutations and new strains", as has been studied by the laboratories involved in virus detection across the country.

In mid February, officials had said that the average daily new infections oscillated between 9,000 to 12,000, while the deaths were between 78 to 120.

On February 9, India had reported 9,110 new cases, the lowest this year so far. In 2020, the lowest 9,633 cases were recorded on June 3.

Till now, 1,08,12,044 persons have been discharged. The recovery rate has reduced to 97.06 per cent.

Five states -- Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka, Punjab and Tamil Nadu cumulatively account for 84.16 per cent of the total active cases in the country.

Till now, 1,56,20,749 doses of corona vaccine have been administered in the country since the mass inoculation drive began on January 16.

The third phase of vaccination against Covid-19 pandemic began on Monday covering 27 crore of people above 60 and those above 45 years of age with comorbidities at 10,000 government and over 20,000 private vaccination centres.

While people will be vaccinated free of cost at government hospitals, those taking the shots at private hospitals will have to pay.