India recorded 66,999 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, the country’s health ministry announced Thursday — its highest confirmed number of daily infections yet.
The country has reported 2,396,637 Covid-19 cases since the outbreak began, according to the ministry, the third highest in the world after the United States and Brazil.
More than 653,000 cases remain active. The total number of recovered patients in India stands at over 1.6 million, according to the government.
In India, not all patients require a test to be considered recovered. Patients with mild and moderate symptoms are considered no longer active after 10 days of symptom onset if they meet certain conditions, and a test to confirm that they no longer have the virus is not required. However, severe cases can only be discharged after one negative coronavirus test.
The health ministry also announced 942 new coronavirus-related fatalities in the past 24 hours, bringing India’s death toll to 47,033.
According to the Indian Council of Medical Research, more than 26.8 million coronavirus samples have been tested so far.
