India reports 2,59,591 new COVID-19 cases, 4,209 deaths

India reported 2,59,591 new COVID-19 cases and 4,209 deaths in the last 24 hours, the Union Health Ministry informed on Friday.

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), as many as 3,57,295 people recovered from the COVID-19 disease across the country in the last 24 hours, which is more than the fresh cases reported.

"The cumulative caseload in India now stands at 2,60,31,991. There are 30,27,925 active COVID cases in the country," the Ministry said.

As many as 2,91,331 people have succumbed to the COVID-19 infection in India, while the recovery tally has mounted to 2,27,12,735.

India witnessed a rise in the daily COVID-related deaths in the last 24 hours as 3,874 deaths were recorded on Thursday.

As per the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a total of 32,44,17,870 samples have been tested for COVID-19 up to May 20.

As many as 20,61,683 samples were tested on Thursday, the highest so far in a single day since the pandemic began.

According to MoHFW, as many as 19,18,79,503 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered since the commencement of the vaccination drive on January 16.