India crossed 4 million coronavirus cases Saturday, recording more than 86,000 new infections, its biggest one-day jump. According to an update issued by the health ministry, 86,432 cases were recorded in the last 24 hours along with 1,089 deaths.
While total cases reached 4,023,179, the total death toll stands at 69,561. With the single day spike, India has approached pandemic figures similar to Brazil, which currently ranks second behind the US. Experts say by the end of September India may surpass the US in severity of the pandemic.
India: World’s third-most infected nation
Home to 1.3 billion people, India is already the world’s third-most infected nation with more than 3.5 million cases, behind the US and Brazil. The US set the previous record on July 17 with 77,638 daily infections, according to an AFP tally.
In his regular monthly radio address on Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not comment on the milestone but called on Indians to observe health safety measures. “It is important that every citizen is healthy and happy and we defeat coronavirus completely together,” Modi said in Hindi.
Read more: India’s Coronavirus tally surges, crosses three million mark
“Corona(virus) can only be defeated when you remain safe, when you fulfil the resolve of keeping a safe distance of two yards and wearing masks.”
Anadolu with additional input by GVS News Desk