NEW DELHI, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Total COVID-19 deaths surpassed the 15,000-mark in India on Friday, reaching 15,301, while total cases reached 490,401, according to the latest data released by the federal health ministry.

The country has recently witnessed a sudden spurt in the number of confirmed cases. Over the past three days, confirmed cases repeatedly rose from 425,282 on Monday to 440,215 on Tuesday, 456,183 on Wednesday, and 473,105 on Thursday.

As many as 14,821 new cases were detected on Monday, 14,933 on Tuesday, 15,968 on Wednesday and 16,922 on Thursday.

The ministry said 407 new deaths due to COVID-19, besides fresh 17,296 positive cases, were reported during the past 24 hours across the country, taking the number of deaths to 15,301 and total cases to 490,401.

According to ministry officials, so far 285,637 people have been discharged from hospitals after showing improvement.

"The number of active cases in the country right now is 189,463," reads the information.