NEW DELHI, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- India's COVID-19 tally rose to 2,905,823 and the death toll surged to 54,849 on Friday, according to the latest data released by the federal health ministry.

As many as 68,898 new cases and 983 deaths were reported during the past 24 hours.

According to the data, there are still 692,028 active cases across India, while 2,158,946 people have been cured and discharged from hospitals.

Over the past few weeks, the Indian government's focus has been on ramping up the testing of COVID-19 samples.

Till Thursday a total of 33,467,237 samples had been tested, out of which 805,985 were tested on Thursday alone, according to the latest data released by the Indian Council of Medical Research.

Some states in the country are still facing a surge in COVID-19 cases. The northern state of Punjab on Thursday announced re-imposition of lockdown during weekends, and night curfew from 7:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. during weekdays in view of the rise in pandemic cases.

Meanwhile, the national capital, which was among the top hotspots a few weeks back, is now witnessing fewer cases and deaths.

Since Thursday Delhi recorded only 134 new cases and 22 deaths, while in the preceding 24 hours it registered only 69 new cases and nine deaths. As a result, the Delhi government on Thursday allowed serving of liquor in hotels, restaurants and clubs.