CHANDIGARH, India

Amid the country's coronavirus count crossing 7.3 million, movie theaters along with additional activities started in several parts of the country on Thursday as part of allowing the fifth round of easing the restrictions called Unlock-5.

According to an Indian Health Ministry update early Thursday, more than 67,000 cases were registered in the last 24 hours taking the total number of infections to 7,307,097, with 680 additional deaths in the country.

The government last month allowed opening of cinemas, theaters, and multiplexes with up to 50% of seating capacity as well as entertainment parks, and swimming pools for training of sportspeople. The government also authorized the state governments to take a call to reopen the schools from Thursday.

In the country's financial hub Mumbai, officials said the state government has allowed the metro operation and services to resume from Oct. 19.

Country imposed a nationwide lockdown in March to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the country bringing the country to a grinding halt. In June, the country started opening up to economic activities in a phased manner. Following the lockdown, India's already-battered economy took a fresh hit with the pandemic and related economic fallout.

While India, currently the second country globally having 7 million cases but with a declining trend in daily infections, the country is approaching the pandemic figures of the US, according to Indian health experts.

According to John Hopkins University, which compiles the coronavirus figures, the US has over 7.91 million cases.