1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
Live TV
Latest audioLatest videos
In focus
Israel and the crisis in the Middle EastGerman coalition collapseUS election
HealthAsia

India sees record coronavirus case spike

July 20, 2020

India's new coronavirus infections have topped 40,000 in a single day, Health Ministry figures show. The country has seen a rapid increase in cases since the government began easing lockdown restrictions in May.

https://p.dw.com/p/3faaX
A health worker in PPE administers a nasal swab for coronavirus to a woman in India
Image: Getty Images/Y. Nazir

India reported a record 40,425 new cases of coronavirus on Monday, the Health Ministry said. The country also logged 681 deaths.

India is the world's third worst-hit country in the COVID-19 pandemic, with more than 1.1 million cases and 27,497 fatalities, behind only the US and Brazil.

Read more: Coronavirus: Street crime, cyber fraud on the rise in India

The infection rate in India has been rapidly rising since the government began to ease lockdown restrictions in mid-May. The country has logged a million new cases since then. Just one day ago, India reported a then-24-hour record of 38,902 new cases.

New Delhi and Mumbai have become epicenters of the outbreak, though new infections there have been declining in recent days. A number of regions, including the IT hub of Bengaluru and the resort city of Goa, have announced fresh lockdowns and restrictions amid the recent surge in cases.

Read more:  Can coronavirus pandemic bring a cycling revolution to India?

The Health Ministry noted that India's COVID-19 fatality rate was "progressively falling," however, due to improved clinical management, containment techniques and testing. At 2.49%, the country's fatality rate is among the lowest in the world.

The country of 1.4 billion has ramped up testing, carrying out nearly 10,000 per million people, compared to just a few hundred in March.

Read more:How coronavirus is affecting underprivileged children in India

Twins in India set up coronavirus relief effort

dr/rc  (dpa, AP)