New Delhi, July 4 -- India's COVID-19 cases soared by over 20,000 in a day for the first time taking the country's total tally to 6,25,544 on Friday, while the death toll climbed to 18,213 with 379 new fatalities, according to the Union Health Ministry data.

the country recorded 20,903 coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours till Friday 8 am, with Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Telangana and Karnataka being the major contributors to the single-day rise.

The number of recoveries stands at 3,79,891, while one patient has migrated. There are 2,27,439 active cases of coronavirus infections presently in the country.

"Thus, around 60.73 per cent of patients have recovered so far," an official said.

The total number of confirmed cases i...