India's coronavirus tally on Friday crossed the grim mark of 24 lakh after the country reported 64,553 new COVID-19 cases during the last 24 hours, said the Union Health Ministry while adding that 1,007 fatalities were reported during the same period.

According to the latest information provided by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the coronavirus tally in India stands at 24,61,191 which includes 6,61,595 active cases. The death toll has climbed to 48,040, taking the mortality rate of the country to 1.95 per cent. Meanwhile, the recovery rate of the country has increased to 71.16 per cent as 17,51,556 have recovered from the deadly infection and discharged from hospitals.

Maharashtra continues to the worst-hit state and the coronavirus tally in the state has increased to 5.60 lakh after it reported a single-day spike of 11,813 new cases. The death toll, on the other hand, has increased to 19,063. Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu's coronavirus tally has increased to 3.20 lakh after the state reported 5,835 new coronavirus cases during the last 24 hours while the death toll has surged to 5,397.Andhra Pradesh's coronavirus tally is over 2.64 lakh while the death toll in the state has reached to 2,378. Delhi, meanwhile, reported 956 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the national capital's tally to 1,49,460 while the death toll has climbed to 4,167.

The first coronavirus case was reported in India on January 30 while the 5 lakh-mark was crossed on June 27. On July 17, India's coronavirus tally crossed the 10 lakh-mark while the 15 lakh-mark was crossed on July 29. On August 7, India's coronavirus tally surged past 20 lakh and in just a week, the country has crossed the 24 lakh mark.

Amid the alarming situation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday held a video conference with chief ministers of 10 states that account for over 80 per cent of active COVID-19 cases in India and asserted if the virus is defeated in these states, then the country will also emerge victorious in its fight against the pandemic. 

"Our experience so far is that containment, contact tracing and surveillance are the most effective weapons against the pandemic with experts of the view that if positive cases are identified within 72 hours of onset, then infection slows down to great extent," PM Modi noted.