NEW DELHI – India's Covid-19 cases passed nine million today, as the world's second-worst-hit country saw hospitals in the capital New Delhi under pressure and graveyards fill up.
India has now registered more than 132,000 deaths, according to the latest official figures, which are widely seen as understating the true scale of the pandemic.
The total number of infections in India is second only to the tally in the US, which has recorded 11.6 million cases and more than 250,000 deaths.
India, the world's second-most populous nation, has seen a drop in daily cases over the past month but it is still registering about 45,000 new infections on average every day.
New Delhi, facing the dual scourge of winter pollution and coronavirus, has seen infections soar past half a million with a record rise in daily cases.
Yesterday, the megacity's government quadrupled fines for not wearing a mask in an effort to get a grip on the outbreak.
At one of Delhi's largest cemeteries, burial space is fast running out, grave-digger Mohammed Shamim told AFP.
India imposed a stringent lockdown in March but restrictions have been gradually eased as the government seeks to reboot the economy after the loss of millions of jobs.
Experts said this has helped spread the disease, as well as a lack of face masks and physical distancing. – AFP, November 20, 2020
