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India’s coronavirus death toll now stands at more than 200,000 after devastating surge of infections
India’s coronavirus death toll now stands at more than 200,000 lives lost, as a devastating surge of new infections tears through cities and rural areas alike and leaves healthcare systems on the brink of collapse.
The health ministry reported a single-day record 3,293 Covid-19 deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing India’s total fatalities to 201,187, as the world’s second-most populous country endures its darkest chapter of the pandemic yet.
The country also reported 362,757 new infections, a new global record, which took the overall total past 17.9 million.
The previous high of 350,000 on Monday had capped a five-day streak of recording the largest single-day increases in any country throughout the pandemic.
India, a country of nearly 1.4 billion people, is the fourth to cross 200,000 deaths, behind the United States, Brazil and Mexico.
As in many nations, experts believe the coronavirus infections and fatalities in India are severe undercounts.
The first known Covid-19 death in India happened on March 12 2020, in the southern state of Karnataka.
It took five months to reach the first 50,000 dead. The toll hit 100,000 deaths in the next two months in October 2020 and 150,000 three months later in January this year. Deaths slowed until mid-March, only to sharply rise again.
For the past week, more than 2,000 Indians have died every day.