India's Coronavirus Tally Nears 7 Lakh-mark With Over 24,000 Cases in 24 Hours, Death Toll at 19,693

Another big single-day jump of 24,248 COVID-19 cases took India's tally close to the 7-lakh mark on Monday, while the death toll due to the disease climbed to 19,693 with 425 new fatalities, according to the Union health ministry.

With this, the country has recorded over 20,000 cases of the infection for the fourth consecutive day. India went past Russia on Sunday to become the third worst-hit nation by the COVID-19 pandemic. Only the US and Brazil are ahead of India in terms of total coronavirus infections.

According to the Monday morning update of the Union Health Ministry, a single-day jump of 24,248 COVID-19 cases pushed India's tally to 6,97,413.

With a steady rise, the number of recoveries stands at 4,24,432 in the country, while one patient has migrated. There are 2,53,287 active coronavirus cases in the country, the data showed.

"Thus, 60.85 per cent of the patients have recovered so far," the ministry said. The total number of confirmed cases also includes foreigners who tested positive in India.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a total of 99,69,662 samples were tested for the disease in the country till July 5, with 1,80,596 just on Sunday.