India’s COVID-19 cases pass 6.3 million

CHANDIGARH, India

India’s coronavirus cases crossed the 6.3 million mark Thursday as the country recorded more than 86,000 new infections.

The Health Ministry said in its latest update that 86,821 cases were reported in the last 24 hours, taking the country's total to 6,312,584.

A total of 1,181 fatalities were recorded in the country in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll to 98,678.

India issued new guidelines late Wednesday for the resumption of more activities in the country. According to the latest guidelines, movie theater multiplexes will be permitted to re-open with up to 50% of their seating capacity from Oct. 15.

India imposed a nationwide lockdown in March to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, bringing the country to a grinding halt. In June, the country started resuming economic activities in a phased manner.

While India has increased the amount of testing on a daily basis, with nearly 1.5 million tests conducted on Sept. 30, a survey published in a medical journal estimated that the country had 6.4 million infections three months ago. Its revelations indicate that a fewer number of tests were done earlier in the country.

Experts in the country say that India may even surpass the US -- the worst-affected country worldwide -- in the severity of the pandemic.