Home ›› 04 Sep 2020 ›› World Biz
India, which remains to be the third-worst hit country in terms of the number of people infected with the coronavirus, has registered 3.9 million cases, near Brazil's total that holds the second-highest position in the world.
India has recorded 83,341 cases in the past 24 hours, pushing India's total past 3.9 million, according to the Health Ministry, reports AP.
Brazil has confirmed more than 4 million infections while the US. has more 6.1 million people infected, according to Johns Hopkins University.
India’s Health Ministry on Friday also reported 1,096 deaths in the past 24 hours, taking total fatalities up to 68,472.
India’s case fatality rate of 1.75 per cent is well below the global average of 3.3 per cent, the ministry said. Experts have questioned whether some Indian states have undercounted deaths.
India added nearly 2 million coronavirus cases in August alone. Pune, Mumbai, New Delhi and Chennai are its worst-hit cities, but new hot spots continue to feed surges in cases in rural areas of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and other states.
In a country of 1.4 billion people, only those places most affected by the virus remain under lockdown. People are crowding markets and other public spaces with potential safety measures like masks and social distancing largely unenforced.
Justifying lifting of lockdown restrictions while infections are surging, Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said the testing capacity has been ramped up and safety procedures put in place.
"While lives are important, livelihoods are equally important,” Bhushan said.
India’s economy contracted by 23.9 per cent in the April-June quarter, its worst performance in at least 24 years.
