NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India reported more than 50,000 cases of coronavirus for the first time on Thursday, due to an outbreak of infections in rural areas at a time when the government is making movement and trade even easier.
There were 52,123 new cases in the last 24 hours, according to federal physical fitness data, bringing the total number of infections to nearly 1.6 million.
Another 775 people died from COVID-related diseases in the same period, bringing the total number of deaths to just under 35,000, which is small compared to the total number of cases, but with few symptoms of slowing down.
While major cities such as New Delhi and Mumbai have noticed their cases declining, infections in rural areas continue to rise dramatically, alarming experts who are concerned that weak fitness systems cannot cope.
India has the third largest number of infections in the world, the United States and Brazil. It counts almost twenty times the number of cases that China, which has a population of similar length and where the virus was first recorded late last year.
In addition, New Delhi announced the third phase of easing restrictions to prevent the spread of the virus. The night curfew will rise from 1 August and gyms will be allowed to open, but schools, cinemas and bars will be closed.
The restrictions, which included a near-total closure of the country for about 3 months, harm small businesses in what is still more commonly a low-income country.
The consumer petition shows little signs of recovery before the festival season in India, where it increases significantly.
“Every year we receive orders from wonderful idols, but this year, due to COVID-19 restrictions, we haven’t had any,” Alagar, an idol maker from the southern city of Madurai, told Reuters’ wife, ANI, on Thursday.
Reporting through Alasdair Pal in New Delhi; edited through John Stonestreet
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