India sees highest-ever single-day surge

On Apr 10, 2021

India sees highest-ever single-day surge as it records 145,384 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday and the highest number of deaths in more than five months.

The health ministry’s data showed that deaths rose by 794 to a total of 168,436.

India’s overall case load has swelled to 13.21 million, the third-highest globally
The government blames the resurgence mainly on crowding and a reluctance to wear masks as businesses have nearly fully reopened since February, only to be partially shut again to control the current surge.

Maharashtra, the Indian state with the most cases, has already shut down restaurants, malls and places of worship and barred the movement of most people to control the outbreak that has threatened to overrun medical facilities and created vaccine shortages, officials said. Its weekend lockdown will end on early Monday.

In India’s financial capital Mumbai, hundreds of poor migrant workers crammed onto trains this week to flee the city, potentially risking a wider outbreak in smaller towns and villages.

Many states, meanwhile, have complained of a shortage of vaccines.

MTO/Reuters

COVID-19 India