India cases spike ahead of festival

INDIA reported 47,905 new cases of coronavirus infection yesterday with New Delhi setting another daily record.

The surge of 8,593 cases in the nation’s capital is the highest for any major Indian city and comes as people crowd shopping areas ahead of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, tomorrow.

Deaths, too, are climbing again, with 85 in New Delhi in the past 24 hours. Deaths are a lagging indicator of the impact of the virus, due to long periods of illness and medical treatment.

The Health Ministry reported 550 deaths in the past 24 hours, taking total fatalities to 128,121.

India’s tally of confirmed cases, currently the second largest in the world behind the United States, has exceeded 8.6 million.