India surpasses Brazil and takes the second place with most coronavirus cases after US
India became the second country in the world with the most cases of coronavirus on Monday, behind the United States, as its numbers exceeded Brazil.
In India, 4.2 million covid-19 infections were registered since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the Indian Ministry of Health, while in Brazil there were 4.12 million and in the United States, 6.25 million infections.
The Indian government accounts for 71,642 deaths due to the covid-19 pandemic, behind Brazil with 126,203 deaths and the United States with 188,540.
However, many experts think that the numbers of cases and deaths are underestimated due to the relatively low number of tests and the causes of death are often misstated.
India, with 1.3 billion people, which has some of the most densely populated cities in the world, is the country with the highest number of new daily cases.
The number of cases surpassed the 4 million barrier on Saturday, just 13 days after having crossed the 3 million barrier.
The growth rate of new cases is progressing at a rather alarming rate, said virologist Shahid Jameel of the Wellcome Trust / DBT India Alliance.
In the last two weeks, the average went from around 65,000 to 83,000 cases per day, or an increase of around 27% in two weeks and 2% per day, Jameel told AFP.
India conducts more than 10 million tests daily and expects to increase the number of tests in the coming days.
The Indian Council for Medical Research, which coordinates the government response, announced that from now on it will not be necessary to have a prescription to take the test.
This will allow discovering more asymptomatic cases, which are the real source of this progression in India, said Jameel.
More tests will have to be carried out in rural districts and villages since two-thirds of the cases come from there, he added.
On Monday, the subways returned to operate in most cities, including New Delhi and Mumbai, two major epidemic centers, after being closed for almost six months.
Due to covid-19, India registered a 23.9% drop in GDP between April and June of this year.
The Indian government accounts for 71,642 deaths due to the covid-19 pandemic, behind Brazil with 126,203 deaths and the United States with 188,540.
However, many experts think that the numbers of cases and deaths are underestimated due to the relatively low number of tests and the causes of death are often misstated.
India, with 1.3 billion people, which has some of the most densely populated cities in the world, is the country with the highest number of new daily cases.
The number of cases surpassed the 4 million barrier on Saturday, just 13 days after having crossed the 3 million barrier.
The growth rate of new cases is progressing at a rather alarming rate, said virologist Shahid Jameel of the Wellcome Trust / DBT India Alliance.
In the last two weeks, the average went from around 65,000 to 83,000 cases per day, or an increase of around 27% in two weeks and 2% per day, Jameel told AFP.
India conducts more than 10 million tests daily and expects to increase the number of tests in the coming days.
The Indian Council for Medical Research, which coordinates the government response, announced that from now on it will not be necessary to have a prescription to take the test.
This will allow discovering more asymptomatic cases, which are the real source of this progression in India, said Jameel.
More tests will have to be carried out in rural districts and villages since two-thirds of the cases come from there, he added.
On Monday, the subways returned to operate in most cities, including New Delhi and Mumbai, two major epidemic centers, after being closed for almost six months.
Due to covid-19, India registered a 23.9% drop in GDP between April and June of this year.