India’s coronavirus cases surged past five million onWednesday after the federal Ministry of Health reported a single-day jumpof 90,123 cases over the last 24 hours.
India is only the second country in the world to confirmmore than five million cumulative cases after the United States.
The country’s death toll from COVID-19 rose to 82,066, theministry said, after 1,290 people died from the disease in the last 24 hours.
India’s caseload is closing in on the US, which has reported more than 6.6million cases, and with the outbreak still spreading is expected to surpass itwithin weeks.
India reported a record daily high of 97,570 cases on September 11 and hasadded more than one million cases this month alone.
Experts warned that India’s COVID-19 fatality rate could increase incoming weeks with lockdown restrictions relaxed except in high-risk areas.
But authorities ruled out imposing a second countrywide lockdown asrecoveries were growing at more than 78 percent.
India’s COVID-19 fatalityrate is 1.6 percent, much lower than 3 percent each in the United Statesand Brazil, according to the Johns Hopkins University.
Dr Gagandeep Kang, an infectious diseases expert from Christian MedicalCollege in Vellore in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, said the numberof cases increasing in India was inevitable.
But the country still had the opportunity to try and restrict cases through
a strategy of testing and isolating the affected places.