India becomes 4th worst-hit nation by COVID-19
India's coronavirus caseload has become the fourth-highest in the world, overtaking Britain, as fears in South Asia that the COVID-19 pandemic may not be under control persist in the face of a rising number of infections.
Anxious to revive the economy after a nearly 70-day lockdown, the government this week opened most public transport, offices and malls, even though health officials said the country was weeks away from flattening the curve of infections.
The government is reporting almost 10,000 new confirmed cases every day with infections now totaling almost 300,000, including 8,500 deaths. Coronavirus fatalities in New Delhi, however, are almost twice as high as official figures show, a city leader said. Citing data from the city's busy crematoriums and cemeteries, he said Thursday that just over 2,000 people have died from the virus across the city, almost twice the official toll.
Despite the surge in cases nationally, which is being mirrored elsewhere in South Asia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has declared the lockdown a success and has been steadily lifting restrictions.
Coronavirus cases also keep rising across the world's fourth most populous nation, Indonesia.
The U.S., which has the world's highest number of deaths and infections, saw cases surge past 2 million.
The virus and the lockdowns have caused a spike in U.S. unemployment, with 44.2 million forced out of jobs since mid-March, and wreaked havoc on the world economy.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the U.S. economy would reopen even if there was a second wave of infections, as Wall Street stocks nosedived in the worst session since March.
(c) Daily Sabah
News.Az
Similar news
