A man walks past a graffiti depicting the importance of wearing a face mask, as an attempt to raise awareness during a nationwide lockdown to slow the spread of COVID-19, in Mumbai, India, April 26, 2020. (Str/Xinhua)

India's federal health ministry Tuesday morning said 48 new deaths due to COVID-19, besides fresh 1,055 positive cases were reported since Monday evening across the country, taking the number of deaths to 934 and total cases to 29,435.

"As on 8:00 a.m. (local time), today 934 deaths related to novel coronavirus have been recorded in the country," according to the information released by the ministry.

On Monday evening, the number of COVID-19 cases in the country was 28,380 and the death toll was 886.

According to ministry officials, so far 6,869 people have been discharged from hospitals after showing improvement.

"The number of active cases in the country right now is 21,632," the information said.

Tuesday marks the 35th straight day of ongoing lockdown across the country announced by the government to contain the spread of the pandemic.

The lockdown which was announced on March 25 has been extended until May 3.

On Monday, during the video conference interaction with Chief Ministers, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi indicated that the COVID-19 lockdown could continue beyond May 3 in areas that have been identified as pandemic hotspots.

Meanwhile, the federal health minister Harsh Vardhan has directed authorities of All India Institute Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and other premier medical institutions to take proactive measures to combat COVID-19 in their respective states.

Vardhan also asked them to create awareness among the society that there should be no stigma related to COVID-19 patients and frontline healthcare workers.