Coronavirus wrap July 6: India becomes third worst-hit country; Delhi tally crosses 1 lakh-mark

India has recorded over 6.97 lakh cases of the novel coronavirus and 19,693 deaths, according to the Union Health Ministry's latest update.

Of these, 2,53,287 are active cases while 4,24,432 have recovered.

Maharashtra has reported the highest number of infections, followed by Tamil Nadu and Delhi.

Globally, more than 1.14 crore infections and over 5.3 lakh deaths have been reported due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Here are all the latest updates:

>> India surpassed Russia's tally of COVID-19 positive cases, becoming the third worst-hit nation in the world after the United States and Brazil.

>> India's national capital, Delhi, meanwhile, added over 1,300 cases, crossing the grim 1 lakh-mark.

>> Announcing the start of the fifth phase of Mission Begin Again, the Maharashtra government today eased curbs and allowed hotels, lodges and guest houses to open from July 6 with 33 percent capacity. The state government also released a set of guidelines to be followed by both the hotels as well as guests.

Follow our LIVE Updates here.

>> West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that shooting for reality shows can start without any audience and with a maximum of 40 crew members.

>> The total number of tests for detection of COVID-19 crossed the one-crore mark in India today, an ICMR official said. 

>> Even as monuments were allowed to re-open, considering the rapid increase in the number of COVID-19 patients in Agra, the city administration decided to defer the reopening of Taj Mahal and other monuments until further notice.

>> Australia's Victoria said that it will be closing its borders due to the rising cases of COVID-19. This is for first time in 100 years that its borders would be closing— the last time this happened was at the time of the Spanish Flu pandemic.