Infections in India hit new record
Print Edition
India’s new coronavirus infections hit a record level yesterday with Mumbai set to be locked down from midnight, but hundreds of thousands of pilgrims still thronged to a religious festival in the north of the country.
The country reported 184,372 cases in 24 hours, health ministry data showed, taking total infections to 13.9 million. Deaths rose by 1,027, for a toll of 172,085.
After reporting less than 10,000 cases per day earlier this year, India has been the world's worst-hit country since April 2. The government blames a widespread failure to heed curbs on movement and social interaction among the population of 1.39 billion.
The rise in cases comes as India’s richest state, Maharashtra, the epicenter of the national second wave, was due to enter a full lockdown at midnight until the end of April to contain the spread of the virus.
The state, of which Mumbai is the capital, accounts for about a quarter of the country’s total coronavirus cases.
Chhattisgarh state — one of several hinterland regions struggling with a surge in cases — set up a temporary 370-bed hospital in an indoor stadium.
Despite this, hundreds of thousands of devout Hindus gathered to bathe in the Ganges river in the northern city of Haridwar yesterday, the third major bathing day of the weeks-long Kumbh Mela festival.
Sanjay Gunjyal, the inspector general of police at the festival, said around 650,000 people bathed yesterday morning.
“People are being fined for not following social distancing in non-crowded ghats (bathing areas), but it is very hard to fine people in the main ghats, which are very crowded,” he said.
There was little evidence of social distancing or mask-wearing at the site.
More than 1,000cases have been reported in Haridwar district in the past two days, according to government data.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
