NEW DELHI: India displaced Brazil on Monday to take second place after the US in terms of coronavirus infections, with 90,082 new cases whose numbers are expected to grow, while some cities reopened underground train services shuttered for months.
With its nationwide tally of 4.2 million exceeded only by the US figure of 6.2 million, India is adding more cases each day than any other country this year since the outbreak of the pandemic.
Monday’s jump was the third straight daily record in India, government data showed, provisionally carrying its tally past Brazil, which has just over 4.1 million cases, although the time difference means the South American nation will release its corresponding figure later.
Cases surge
Experts say there is no sign of a peak as cases surge, both in major cities and rural areas that have limited access to health services. The death toll of 71,642 in India compares with nearly 193,000 in the US and 126,000 in Brazil.
India says its rising infections also reflect higher rates of testing nationwide, adding that high recovery rates show its strategy of testing, tracing and treatment is working and the situation is under control in a country of its size.