India COVID-19 death toll rises to 206 as total cases reach 6,761

NEW DELHI: India's federal health ministry Friday evening said the death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 206 and the total number of confirmed cases in the country reached 6,761.

As on 5:00 p.m (local time) today 206 deaths related to coronavirus have been recorded in the country, according to the health ministry.

This is a jump of seven deaths and an increase of 349 cases since Friday morning.

According to ministry officials, so far 516 people have been discharged from hospitals after showing improvement.

"The number of active cases in the country right now is 6039," the health ministry said.

Friday marks the seventeenth straight day of ongoing 21-day lockdown across the country announced by the government to contain the spread of the pandemic.

The three-week lockdown is expected to end on April 14.

Meanwhile, the northern Indian state of Punjab Friday said it would extend the lockdown until May 1.

It has become the second state in India after Odisha announced to do so.

However, the federal government so far has not announced whether the lockdown would be extended or not.