India surges past Brazil in number of Covid-19 cases, trailing only behind US

The world’s second most populous country now has the second-worst Covid-19 figures, with over 4.2 million cases on the record. The lifting of lockdown measures continues nevertheless, with the New Delhi metro reopening on Monday.

With more than 90,600 new cases added to the official tally since Sunday, India has surpassed Brazil in the coronavirus metric. Only the United States, which currently has over 6.2 million Covid-19 cases, has more infections on the record.

India’s death toll from the disease however remains behind both the US and Brazil, standing at over 71,600 as of Monday. The health ministry recorded 1,016 new fatalities from the coronavirus in the last 24 hours.

Despite the surge, Indian authorities have no intention of reverse the easing of Covid-19 restrictions. The policy is meant to give a boost to the ailing national economy, which contracted by a record 23.9 percent in the second quarter of 2020, according to national statistics released in late August.

The New Delhi metro, which services the sprawling national capital and had as many as 2.6 million passengers daily before the epidemic, partially resumed working on Monday after a six-month long hiatus. Partial services are now also available in Ahmedabad, a western Indian city of some 5.5 million residents. Commuters are required to wear face masks, take alternating seats and otherwise take precautions during rides.

India imposed a national lockdown in March and started lifting the restrictions in June. Critics argue that instead of slowing down the virus it caused an exodus of freshly unemployed people from big cities, spreading the infection far and wide.

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