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India has seen a record 78,761 new coronavirus cases in the past day, the worst 24-hour spike ever recorded worldwide from the pandemic.
The country’s Health Ministry also reported 948 deaths, bringing the total number of deaths there to 63,498.
India is one of the countries that has been most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, having seen the fourth highest number of people killed after the United States, Brazil and Mexico.
The UK has had the fifth highest number of reported deaths in the world, with 12 new deaths announced on Saturday, bringing the total to 41,498.
The global number of cases has reached 25 million according to Johns Hopkins University, which has been monitoring the disease.
India’s track record is particularly concerning because it has the fastest growing daily cases of any country, with more than 75,000 infections reported over four consecutive days.
The latest figure surpasses the previously largest one-day jump in cases of 77,299, recorded in the US in mid-July.
Sunday’s surge comes at a time when the country is reopening its subway networks and allowing sporting and religious events with some caps starting next month as part of efforts to revive the economy.
The crowded public transport system, a lifeline for millions of people in the capital, New Delhi, will gradually reopen from 7 September.
However, schools and universities will remain closed until the end of September.
Even though eight states in India remain among the worst affected regions, contributing nearly 73% of total infections, the virus is now spreading rapidly in less populated areas.
Earlier this week, members of a small isolated tribe on the remote Andaman and Nicobar Islands tested positive for COVID-19.
Meanwhile, in the US, another 44,635 cases have been reported, bringing the total number to nearly six million.
South Korea, which managed to control the spread of the virus in the early stages of the pandemic, has put limits on closed restaurants and gyms in the capital after posting its 17th consecutive day of triple-digit increases, bringing the total to cases to 19,699 and 323. deceased.
And in Berlin, Germany, police broke up a massive protest against coronavirus restrictions on Saturday and arrested 300 for failing to socially distance themselves and wearing masks.
Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in
December 2019.
The trajectory of COVID-19 is still well below the Spanish flu of 1918, which infected approximately 500 million people and killed at least 10% of patients.
But experts worry that the information available minimizes the true impact of the pandemic, particularly in countries with limited or less advanced evidence.
Worldwide, there have been more than 842,000 deaths, well above the 290,000 to 650,000 deaths that occur annually that are related to influenza.
