India confirms 87,000 Covid-19 cases in just 24 hours

A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument early morning in Agra, India, Monday, Sept.21, 2020 | Photo: AP

New Delhi, India — India has confirmed nearly 87,000 new Covid-19 infections in the past 24 hours.

According to the Health Ministry of India, in addition to the confirmed 87,000 cases, the country had also recorded 1,130 deaths in the past 24 hours, taking the total death toll to 87,882.

While India has confirmed a total of 5.4 million infections up to date, the country is reaching close to becoming the pandemic’s worst affected country in the world, after surpassing United States with 6.8 million confirmed cases.

Out of the 28 states in India, 05 states are currently holding over 60% of the active cases. These states are Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. Experts fear about the surge in the number of cases in smaller cities and villages as the access to healthcare is difficult in those areas.

The economy of India has dropped to nearly 24% in the second quarter. This is one of the worst downfall among the world’s top economies. In hopes of rising the economy, the government has been relaxing the restrictive measures that were taken to contain the virus despite the surge in cases.

On Monday, the country had also reopened the 17th century, white marble Taj Mahal for national and international tourists after a gap of over six months. Although the place is opened, wearing masks, thermal screening and physical distancing are among the virus restrictions used.