India adds another 83K COVID cases

NEW DELHI — The number of people confirmed to be infected with the coronavirus in India rose by another 80,000 and is near Brazil’s total, the second-highest in the world.

The 83,341 cases added in the past 24 hours pushed India’s total past

3.9 million, according to the Health Ministry. Brazil has confirmed more than 4 million infections while the U.S. has more 6.1 million people infected, according to Johns Hopkins University.

India’s Health Ministry on Friday also reported 1,096 deaths in the past 24 hours, taking total fatalities up to 68,472.

India’s case fatality rate of

1.75 percent is well below the global average of 3.3 percent, the ministry said. Experts have questioned whether some Indian states have undercounted deaths.

India added nearly 2 million coronavirus cases in August.

In other developments in the Asia-pacific region:

■ Australian authorities on Friday added 53 earlier virus deaths from aged-care homes and six new deaths to their tally, bringing the total number of virus deaths to 737. Victoria state officials said they have been reconciling numbers from July and August. The outbreak appears to be waning, with Victoria officials reporting 81 new cases on Friday.

■ New Zealand reported its first death from the coronavirus in more than three months on Friday. Health authorities said a man in his 50s died at an Auckland hospital where he was being treated for the virus after an outbreak in the city that began last month. New Zealand has reported more than 1,700 cases and 23 deaths.

■ South Korea will extend elevated social distancing restrictions in the greater capital area for another week as it looks to contain a coronavirus resurgence that threatens to erase hard-won epidemiological gains.