India records 70,496 new coronavirus cases, total infections near 7 million

India on Friday confirmed 70,496 fresh cases of coronavirus and 964 new deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing the total infections to 6,906,161 and death toll to 106,490, according to the health ministry. 

With the latest figures updated by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, there are 893,592 active cases in the country. 

Also read | Tamil Nadu surpasses 10,000 COVID-19 deaths, recovery rate above 90%

In the last 24 hours, 1,168,705 tests for Covid-19 took place in India. 

Also read | Coronavirus cases in Delhi crosses 3 lakh; death toll climbs to 5,653

After hitting a high of almost 100,000 daily cases, it seems that coronavirus infections in the country have passed its peaked for the first time as the daily cases remain in the range of 70,000-80,000 cases. 

Meanwhile, the central government on Thursday launched a public awareness campaign to stop the spread of Covid-19.

In the 'Jan Andolan' campaign, PM Narendra Modi and his cabinet team would raise awareness on wearing masks and maintaining social distancing as India gears up for its festival season. 

Globally, the US remains the worst-hit country with 211,844 deaths and is followed by Brazil with 148,228 fatalities, according to an AFP tally. India ranks third in terms of the death toll and second in overall infections.

The tally said 36.2 million people have so far contracted Covid-19 worldwide, out of which 1,057,084 have died.