India Overtakes Brazil for 2nd Highest Virus Caseload

Date: 07 September 2020 - 22:03

News ID: ۸۲۵۳۷

NEW DELHI (AFP) -- India overtook Brazil on Monday as the country with the second highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases, even as key metro train lines re-opened as part of efforts to boost the South Asian nation’s battered economy.
India has emerged in recent weeks as the new global pandemic hotspot, although cases continue to soar across the globe with reported infections worldwide nearing 27 million and deaths surpassing 880,000.
India, home to some of the world’s most densely populated cities, has been reporting the highest single-day rises in the world and on Monday it confirmed a new record of nearly 91,000 new cases.
Infections have now risen above 4.2 million, surpassing Brazil’s total and making India’s tally the second-highest behind the United States’ 6.25 million.
However, with India’s economy imploding following months of travel restrictions, authorities pressed on with risky reignition plans.
The metro in the capital New Delhi began reopening on Monday after a five-month shutdown and 12 other cities restarted subway services.
Authorities imposed strict rules on the trains, with masks, social distancing and temperature checks mandatory.
During peak hour in New Delhi on Monday morning, carriages were sparsely filled as people followed guidelines dictating that only alternate seats could be occupied.
For total deaths worldwide, the United States has the most with more than 188,000, followed by Brazil with 126,000. India is next with about 71,000 fatalities.
Britain, one of the worst-hit countries at the start of the pandemic, is also battling another spike.
The number of daily cases hit nearly 3,000 on Sunday, a level not seen since late May, according to health ministry figures.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the latest sufferers were predominantly young people.
"It’s important that people don’t allow this illness to infect their grandparents and to lead to the sort of problems that we saw earlier in the year,” he said.
The British government said it would tighten local restrictions in areas showing sharp rises in cases, rather than impose a second national lockdown, for fear of its impacts on the economy.
In France authorities placed seven more regions covering several major cities on high alert Sunday.
The curbs came after France reported a record of nearly 9,000 daily cases on Friday. In Paris masks are now mandatory in all public spaces.
Lockdowns have also been imposed or extended in Israel and Australia in recent days.