India registered 234,692 new COVID-19 cases, the third consecutive day that the country reported over 200,000 new cases, taking the total tally to 14,526,609, said the data released by the federal health ministry on Saturday. Besides, as many as 1,341 people died since Friday morning, as the total death toll rose to 175,649. There are still a total of 1,679,740 active cases in the country, with an increase of 109,997 active cases through Friday, as 12,671,220 people have been cured and discharged from hospitals so far across the country. The COVID-19 figures continue to peak in the country every day, as the federal government has ruled out imposing a complete lockdown to contain the worsening situation. While some school examinations stand cancelled, others have been postponed in the wake of COVID-19 situation. As a precautionary measure the national capital Delhi is witnessing a weekend curfew beginning Friday night, till Monday morning. Also read: Mumbai imposes strict virus restrictions as infections surge The number of daily active cases has been on the rise over the past few weeks. In January the number of daily cases in the country had come down to below-10,000. As many as 9102 new cases were reported between January 25-26, which was the lowest in the previous 237 days. India's nationwide vaccination drive was kicked off on Jan. 16. So far over 119.93 million people have been vaccinated across the country. Meanwhile, the federal government has ramped up COVID-19 testing facilities across the country, even as over 264 million tests have been conducted so far. As many as 264,972,022 tests were conducted till Friday, out of which 1,495,397 tests were conducted on Friday alone, said the latest data issued by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Saturday. The national capital Delhi, which has been one of the most COVID-19 affected places in the country, witnessed nearly 19,500 new cases and 141 deaths through Friday. Also read: Day workers leaving India's Mumbai as virus dries up jobs So far as many as 11,793 people have died in the national capital due to COVID-19, confirmed the Delhi's health department.

The confirmed COVID-19 cases have surpassed 42.9 million globally as of Monday morning, according to the latest tally from Johns Hopkins University (JHU).

India’s iconic Taj Mahal has reopened its doors to visitors after six months - the longest it has ever been shut since it was built in the 17th century.