NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India on Friday reported its biggest jump in new coronavirus infections in three weeks, with 13,193 cases, while thousands of marshals rushed out wearing masks in the financial capital of Mumbai, which is facing a recent spate Com.
The count of confirmed infections is 10.96 million, the second highest after the United States, with more than 156,000 deaths. But real infections can range up to 300 million, a serological survey by the government showed this month.
In recent days, 75% of India’s new cases have been reported from the southern state of Kerala and Maharashtra, home to Mumbai, a densely populated city of 20 million people. The two countries have already had the most reported infections.
Health experts suggest that the reopening of educational institutions in Kerala and the resumption of suburban train services in Mumbai could be the main factors.
After an 11-month gap, Mumbai resumed on February 1 with full suburban train services, delivering an average of 8 million people daily before the pandemic.
The city began introducing marshals to enforce mask wear. Of the nearly 5,000 marshals, about 300 would be deployed on the rail network, city authorities said.
Indians largely gave up on masks and social distance, Reuters reports.
“Coronavirus … has not yet left the country,” the health ministry said on Twitter. “We still need to follow COVID-appropriate behavior. No carelessness until there is a cure.”
Despite the recent increase in infections, India’s daily count of new cases remains well below a mid-September high of almost 100,000. Test numbers also dropped to about 800,000 per day from more than 1 million.
Since the start of its vaccination campaign in mid-January, India has administered nearly 10 million doses, aiming to cover 300 million people by August.
(Reported by Krishna N. Das and Anuron Kumar Mitra; edited by Simon Cameron-Moore)