NEW DELHI - India's health ministry Wednesday morning reported 582 new deaths and 29,429 more COVID-19 cases during the past 24 hours across the country, taking the number of deaths to 24,309 and total cases to 936,181.

It is the highest single-day spike in the number of fresh cases in the country so far.

According to ministry officials, 592,032 people have been discharged from hospitals after showing improvement, and the number of active cases stood at 319,840.

Presently the country has entered Unlock 2.0 phase, though restrictions remain in full force inside the COVID-19 Containment Zones. Commercial international flights to and from India are suspended until July 31.

Last week, the government of Uttar Pradesh, the country's biggest state in terms of population, had decided to impose a weekend lockdown from Friday night till Monday morning, to cut the chain of transmission of COVID-19. The state will continue with similar lockdowns every weekend.