India's novel coronavirus tally crossed the 22-lakh mark on Monday with 62,064 new cases, while the death toll climbed to 44,386 with 1,007 more fatalities, the health ministry said.

The recoveries surged to 15,35,743 with a record 54,859 more people recuperating in the past 24 hours, taking the recovery rate to 69.33 per cent.

The case fatality rate has dropped to about 2 per cent, the ministry said.

There are 6,34,945 active cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

The total coronavirus cases now stands at 22,15,074, including 44,386 deaths, according to the ministry data.

This is the fourth consecutive day that the COVID-19 cases have increased by more than 60,000.

As many as 4,77,023 samples were tested on Sunday, taking the total to 2,45,83,558, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research.