India on the edge of the abyss: Covid-19 cases surpass 5 million

The number of confirmed coronavirus infections in India has surpassed five million, officials say, the second-highest in the world after the US.

India’s coronavirus cases surged past five million on Wednesday after the federal Ministry of Health reported a single-day jump of 90,123 cases over the last 24 hours.

The virus appears to be spreading much faster in India than any other country, with daily cases crossing 90,000 for the five days up until Tuesday.

India is only the second country in the world to confirm more than five million cumulative cases after the United States.

But the death rate is lower than in many countries with a high caseload.

The rise in infections comes as the government continues to lift restrictions throughout the country to try to boost an economy that lost millions of jobs when the virus hit in March.

How COVID-19 spread across India

In the initial stages of Covid-19, India appeared to be doing fairly well, imposing a strict lockdown, but the virus then hit megacities like Mumbai and the capital, Delhi, before surging in smaller cities and rural areas.

Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra and India’s most populous state Uttar Pradesh also account for more than 60% of the active cases.

Despite the increase, the government has eased restrictions to recover from the effects of an early lockdown – between March and June – that hit the economy hard.

As India opens up and people return to work, Covid-19 cases have been surging. Some 600,000 cases were added just last week.

A large number of offices, shops, businesses, liquor shops, bars and restaurants have reopened. Restricted domestic and international evacuation flights are being operated every day along with train services.

While schools and colleges will remain closed till September 30.