India hit a one-day record high with more than 300,000 new coronavirus infections, marking a stark milestone for the country as a deadlier second wave shows no signs of abating.
The South Asian nation, which has the world’s second largest outbreak, reported 314,835 new cases on Thursday, bringing the total number close to 16 million cases. The US, the hardest-hit country in the world, peaked in one day of 314,312 cases on Dec. 21 and has reported only more than 300,000 cases in two days since the pandemic began. Infections in America are now on a downward trend, aided in part by aggressive vaccination.
Covid related deaths in India have risen to 184,657. The country has managed more than 132 million vaccine doses, according to data from the Indian Ministry of Health. That’s enough to cover about 4.8% of its massive 1.3 billion residents, according to Bloomberg vaccine tracker.
There is a new virus variant in India. How worried should we be?
The worsening outbreak threatens to derail the Indian economy that had just begun to recover after a nationwide lockdown last year pushed it into a historic recession. A new virus variant with a double mutation has also surfaced locally, and concern is growing that it is driving the fierce new wave that is overwhelming India’s. hospitals and crematoria.