India now sixth worst-hit nation by COVID-19, surpasses Italy with an infection tally of 2,36,657

India went past Italy to become the sixth worst-hit nation by the COVID-19 pandemic with the country registering a record single-day spike of 9,887 cases which pushed the nationwide tally to 2,36,657.

India's death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 6,642 with a record increase of 294 deaths in the 24 hours till Saturday 8 AM.

India is now the sixth worst-affected nation in terms of coronavirus infection cases after the US, Brazil, Russia, Spain and the UK, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

The number of active COVID-19 cases stood at 1,15,942, while 1,14,072 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, the Union Health Ministry said.

"Thus, around 48.20 per cent patients have recovered so far," a senior health ministry official said.

The total confirmed cases include foreigners.

Of the 294 deaths reported since Friday morning, 139 were in Maharashtra, 58 in Delhi, 35 in Gujarat, 12 each in Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh, 11 in West Bengal, eight in Telangana, seven in Madhya Pradesh, five in Rajasthan, two in Andhra Pradesh and one each in Jammu and Kashmir, Odisha, Punjab Jharkhand and Uttarakhand.

Of the total 6,642 fatalities, Maharashtra tops tally with 2,849 deaths followed by Gujarat with 1,190 deaths, Delhi with 708, Madhya Pradesh with 384, West Bengal with 366, Uttar Pradesh with 257, Tamil Nadu with 232, Rajasthan with 218, Telangana with 113 and Andhra Pradesh with 73 deaths.

The death toll reached 57 in Karnataka and 48 in Punjab.

Jammu and Kashmir has reported 36 fatalities due to the disease, Bihar has 29, Haryana has 24 deaths, Kerala has 14, Uttarakhand has 11, Odisha has eight and Jharkhand has reported seven deaths so far.

Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh have registered five COVID-19 fatalities each. Assam has recorded four deaths, while Chhattisgarh has reported two deaths so far.

Meghalaya and Ladakh have reported one COVID-19 fatality each, according to the ministry data.

According to the ministry's website, more than 70 per cent of the deaths are due to comorbidities.