MUMBAI (Reuters) – India reported 94,372 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Sunday, taking total cases past 4.7 million, as infection numbers rose in several states amid a gradual opening up of businesses.
The number of deaths rose to 78,586, with 1,114 new deaths, health ministry data showed.
While several states showed a rise in infections, including the capital New Delhi and the central Chhattisgarh state, the highest numbers were from the India’s biggest and richest state, Maharashtra, which reported 8,204 fresh cases.
Maharashtra’s Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in a news briefing on Sunday urged residents to wear masks and maintain social distancing, amid growing fatigue over a drawn-out lockdown that has made many lax about taking precautions.
The western state recorded its millionth coronavirus infection on Friday https://in.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-india-maharashtra/maharashtra-exceeds-1-million-coronavirus-cases-rivalling-russia-stifling-recovery-idINKBN2621JG, putting it on par with Russia in the pandemic and stifling India’s attempts to turn around the plummeting economy.
The state of 130 million people, home to the densely-packed financial capital Mumbai, has pushed up infection numbers in India, which is likely to hit 5 million cases in coming days, behind only to the United States.
(Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav in MUMBAI; Writing by Zeba Siddiqui; Editing by Kim Coghill)
