India ranks 5th on tally of COVID-19 worst-hit countries

World Sunday 07/June/2020 16:44 PM
By: Times News Service
India ranks 5th on tally of COVID-19 worst-hit countries

NEW DELHI: India took the fifth spot on tally of the worst-hit countries due to the COVID-19 pandemic on Sunday.

With 287 new deaths and 9,971 positive COVID-19 cases reported during the past 24 hours across the country, the number of deaths has risen to 6,929 and total cases reached 246,628.

Sunday's figures are so far the highest spike in terms of fresh cases in the country.

According to the ranking, India has surpassed Spain and took the fifth spot on the tally of countries worst-hit by COVID-19.

The recovery rate in India stands at 48.36 percent.

The ongoing fifth phase of nationwide lockdown that came into force on June 1 with several relaxations and reopening in a phased manner is yet to see the full resumption of economic activities.

Health experts attribute the spike in cases to the increase in India's testing capacity and easing of restrictions.

As per India's top health research body, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), until Monday morning over 4.66 million samples have been tested. The research body said during the last 24 hours, 142,069 samples were tested.

In India, the state of Maharashtra continues to report the highest number of cases, followed by Tamil Nadu and Delhi.

Earlier this week Nivedita Gupta, an expert from the ICMR, said India was far from the pandemic peak.

Last month the director of India's premier health institute All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Randeep Guleria said COVID-19 cases are likely to peak in the month of June and July.