NEW DELHI, March 29 (Reuters) – India on Monday reported the largest daily increase in coronavirus cases in five months, at a time when the second wave of the disease is being driven by rising infections in the world’s richest state. country, Maharashtra.
In total, 68,020 new cases of coronavirus were reported in the last 24 hours, the Ministry of Health said. It was the highest daily rise since Oct. 11, according to a Reuters tally.
India has been reporting an increase in cases – above the 60,000 mark – for three consecutive days, although Monday’s increase is still below the September peak of more than 90,000 cases per day.
The total number of cases since the epidemic began a year ago has exceeded 12 million, making India the most affected country in the world outside of the United States and Brazil. Some experts believe that the most realistic figure would be more than 300 million due to insufficient evidence, although that has improved.
Daily deaths rose by 291 on Monday and the virus has killed 161,843 people to date in the country. Maharashtra, the western state home to the country’s financial capital, Mumbai, posted its biggest daily increase in cases, with 40,414.
The state is considering imposing a strict lockdown this week. It has already tightened travel restrictions and imposed a nightly curfew in a bid to curb rising cases of infections.
Several states imposed restrictions on public gatherings on the Hindu festival Holi and the Shab-e-Barat or Muslim Day of Atonement, which were celebrated over the weekend.
Holi, which marks the arrival of the boreal spring, is one of the largest festivals in India. People usually celebrate it by smearing each other with different colored powders and singing.