India reported 78,761 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, a dramatic world record that brings the country”s caseload to over 3.5 million – the world’s highest one after US’s and Brazil’s.
The Health Ministry on Sunday also reported 948 deaths, taking total fatalities to almost 64,000.
After reporting more than 75,000 infections for the fourth consecutive day, India now has the fastest-growing daily coronavirus caseload in the world.
Sunday’s surge comes at a time when the country is reopening its subway networks and allowing sports and religious events from next month as part of efforts to revive the economy.
Meanwhile, coronavirus cases are hit 25 million worldwide.
Since mid-July, one million additional cases were recorded every four days – according to a tally by news agency AFP.
The world’s worst affected region remains however Latin America and the Caribbean (7,222,153 cases including 273,887 deaths), followed by Canada and the US (6,088,321 cases and 191,910 deaths), Asia (5,060,936 cases and 96,124 deaths), Europe (3,911,286 cases and 214,995 deaths), the Middle East (1,479,598 cases and 35,959 deaths) and Africa (1,238,149 cases and 29,399 deaths). Oceania(28,807 cases and 641 deaths ) is the least affected continent.
The pace of the pandemic’s spread remains particularly fast in Argentina. The Latin-American country’s infection rate was 35% higher than last week, with the total number of infections passing 400,000 on Saturday.
People in Buenos Aires protested last Monday against confinement measures but the government on Friday decided nonetheless to extend them, banning gathering in closed public spaces until September 20.
Protests against confinement measures are taking place in Europe as well.
Around 38,000 people marched at a later dispersed demo in Berlin on Saturday to protest against coronavirus restrictions. Another 1,000 protesters took to the streets of London to end the “medical tyranny”, while 300 demonstrated in Paris against the imposition of face-coverings in public areas.
Some 1,000 people also marched in Zurich, Switzerland, calling for a “return to freedom”.
