India recorded 62,480 new COVID-19 cases and 1,587 deaths in the last 24 hours, the Union Health Ministry’s data released on Friday showed. The country’s infection tally now stands at 2,97,62,793 and the death toll at 3,83,490. 

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As of Friday, there are 7,98,656 active cases in the country. As many as 2,85,80,647 COVID-19 patients have recovered, including 88,977 who were discharged on Thursday. 

As many as 38,71,67,696 samples have been tested for the novel
coronavirus till June 17, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) showed.
Of these, 19,29,476 were tested on Thursday. 

India started its mass COVID-19 vaccination drive on January 16 and as per the latest count, 26,89,60,399 have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

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After recording over 400,000 cases daily, India is now witnessing a dip, prompting states to lift the COVID-induced restrictions.   Ministry of Health said on Tuesday that the recovery rate has increased to 95.64% and the weekly positivity rate is currently at 4.39%.