India prepares to overtake the US as the country most affected by the coronavirus

INDIA HAS REGISTERED 92,605 new cases of coronavirus in the last 24 hours and is expected to overtake the United States as the country most affected by the pandemic in a few weeks.

The Health Ministry also reported 1,133 additional deaths for a total of 86,752.

Sunday’s surge brought the country’s number of viruses to more than 5.4 million. India, however, also has the highest number of recovered patients in the world, according to Johns Hopkins University. Its recovery rate is around 80%.

More than 60% of active cases are concentrated in five of the 28 states of India: Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has faced harsh criticism for its handling of the pandemic amid a contracting economy that left millions out of work.

Meanwhile, Australia’s second-largest city Melbourne has come closer to easing severe lockdown restrictions after registering just 14 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday.

It was the second day in a row that new infections fell below 30. There were also five deaths today.

Melbourne’s lockdown restrictions will be lowered next weekend, when childcare centers will be allowed to reopen and gatherings of up to five people from two different households will be allowed. But that depends on the 14-day moving average of new cases being below 50. It now stands at 36.2.

Victoria State Health Minister Jenny Mikakos praised residents for adhering to the closure rules, saying: “The enormous sacrifices made by the Victorians are saving many lives.”

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison described an unexpected drop in Australia’s unemployment rate to 9.3%, 14 percentage points below its peak during the pandemic, as a “welcome stimulus”.

Figures show that some 400,000 Australians have recently returned to work.