Coronavirus cases soar to new daily high in India

NEW DELHI

India recorded a new high of more than 261,000 daily coronavirus cases on Sunday, according to official figures.

Statistics by the Health Ministry revealed that 261,500 cases were registered in the past 24 hours, which pushed the total to 14.7 million.

There were 1,500 deaths, taking the number of fatalities to 177,150.

The national capital of New Delhi recorded around 24,000 new cases, while western Maharashtra state registered more than 67,000 new cases in the past 24 hours.

Since Thursday, the country has been registering more than 200,000 infections daily. Earlier this month, it saw 100,000 for the first time since the pandemic began last year.

With the country’s witnessing an unprecedented second wave, several cities have imposed a weekend lockdown to prevent further spread.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting on Saturday to review the status of preparedness to handle the pandemic, according to a statement.

“Various aspects relating to medicines, oxygen, ventilators and vaccination were discussed,” it said.