India has again reported a record daily jump in coronavirus patients, with 9,887 new cases confirmed in the previous 24 hours. The latest spike brings the nation's caseload to 236,657 patients. According to the tally provided by the US-based Johns Hopkins University, India has now overtaken Italy to become the sixth heaviest-hit country by the number of confirmed infections.
Indian authorities also reported 294 new deaths for the total of 6,642.
The latest spike comes just days before the government was set to further ease lockdown measures. Malls, restaurants, and places of worship are set to reopen on Monday.