India's COVID-19 tally reaches 8,137,119 as Delhi sees new wave of cases

NEW DELHI -- India's COVID-19 tally reached 8,137,119 on Saturday as 48,268 new cases were detected across the country in the past 24 hours, according to the latest data released by the federal health ministry.

With 551 deaths since Thursday morning, the death toll in the country due to the pandemic reached 121,641, added the ministry's data.

Still there are 582,649 active cases in the country, while 7,432,829 people have been cured and discharged from hospitals so far.

The Indian government has been ramping up COVID-19 testing facilities across the length and breadth of the country.

Till Friday a total of 108,796,064 tests were conducted in the country, out of which 1,067,976 tests were conducted on Friday alone, showed the data from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Saturday.

Over the past few days, the national capital New Delhi has been witnessing a fresh spate of COVID-19 cases. According to official figures, the cases have been rising by 10 percent over the past four days.

Worried over the prevailing situation in the capital city, the country's home secretary has called a meeting with Delhi's health officials on Monday, confirmed a Delhi government official.