Cases surge

MUMBAI: Indian states, where millions of migrant labourers are returning from big cities, are recording rising coronavirus infections, officials said yesterday.

Officials from the home and railway ministries said at least 4.5 million workers had migrated home from economic hubs in the two months since Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared a lockdown.

By last night, India had recorded a total 146,208 infections and a death toll of 4187.

‘‘Dozens of labourers who travelled from New Delhi have tested positive. We are ensuring that noone enters their village with this infection,’’ Gaurav Sinha, a senior health official in Bihar’s capital, Patna, said.

Economists studying reverse migration patterns said India’s poorest migrant labourers have been the worst hit by the lockdown. — Reuters