India reports another record daily rise in coronavirus cases
- 17 Apr 2021
Gulf Today Report
The global coronavirus death toll was expected to reach three million on Saturday, as the race for immunisation continues and countries like India grapple with rising infections and new lockdowns.
India reported a record daily increase of 234,692 COVID-19 infections over the last 24 hours, health ministry data showed on Saturday.
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It was the eighth record daily increase in the last nine days, according to Reuters.
The virus that surfaced in late 2019 in central China and the ensuing pandemic has infected more than 100 million people, leaving billions more under crippling lockdowns and ravaging the global economy.
India's capital New Delhi went into a weekend lockdown Saturday.
India's capital New Delhi went into a weekend lockdown Saturday as the world's second-most populous nation faces more than 200,000 fresh daily cases and families clamouring for drugs and hospital beds.
Total cases reached nearly 14.5 million, second only to the United States which has reported more than 32 million infections.
India's deaths from COVID-19 rose by 1,341 to reach a total of 175,649, the data showed.
Hopes that South Asian countries might have seen the worst of the pandemic have been dashed, with India recording over two million new cases this month alone and Bangladesh and Pakistan imposing new shutdowns.
