India’s new coronavirus infections at lowest in almost a month

There were 75,083 new cases and 1,053 deaths in the past 24 hours, and a record 101,468 recoveries.

New graves prepared for people died from COVID-19
So far, nearly 76 percent of the new virus cases are concentrated in 10 states [File: Amarjeet Kumar Singh/Anadolu]

India has reported 75,083 new cases of the novel coronavirus in the last 24 hours, according to federal health data released on Tuesday, the lowest daily tally in almost a month.

There were 1,053 deaths over the same period. India also reported a record number of single-day recoveries with 101,468 people in 24 hours now virus-free, taking the total to 4,497,867, according to its health ministry.

With more than 5.5 million cases, India is behind only the United States in the total number of confirmed infections and it has the third-highest number of deaths worldwide with nearly 89,000.

So far, nearly 76 percent of the new virus cases are concentrated in 10 states, with Maharashtra in central India accounting for almost a quarter of new infections on Monday.

Daily new infections in India have been hovering around 90,000 for the past few weeks, but experts point out that testing still varies from state to state. And new surges have been detected in states that had so far been left relatively unscathed by the virus.

The central state of Chhattisgarh, where nearly half the population lives in poverty, has seen the sharpest increase in new infections.

The caseload in the state, where the health system is very fragile, has increased from about 33,000 at the beginning of the month to more than 86,000 now. The state government announced a weeklong lockdown of 10 districts on Monday.

Nevertheless, the country is unlikely to see a nationwide lockdown like the one it had in March, which devastated the economy and livelihoods.

The Taj Mahal is set to reopen to visitors after a six-month closure, even as the pandemic accelerated in recent weeks with India set to overtake the US to become the nation worst-hit by COVID-19.

India’s coronavirus cases pass 5 million as pandemic accelerates
Source: Al Jazeera, News Agencies