India overtakes Brazil; now, second-highest in terms of Covid-19 cases

NEW DELHI: India's COVID-19 case count went past the 41 lakh mark, while the death toll increased to more than 70,000 on Saturday. India overtook Brazil on Saturday as the country with the second-highest recorded cases of Covid-19 after the US. The pandemic continued its unprecedented surge in India, with fresh cases close to 90,000 on Saturday, the fourth straight day of record daily rise in infections.

In another grim milestone, Covid-19 deaths in India crossed 70,000, having risen by more than 10,000 in 10 days. India’s case count crossed the 41 lakh mark late on Saturday, going past Brazil’s tally of 40,93,586 cases at 11 pm, as per worldometers.info

Brazil’s numbers may overtake India’s when its final tally for Saturday is added. But going by recent trends, India’s caseload is expected to break away from Brazil by Sunday.

India, currently in the midst of the biggest Covid-19 spike seen in any country since the pandemic’s outbreak, has been recording nearly twice the number of daily cases than Brazil and US over the past few days. Over the past 24 hours, 89,690 infections where recorded in the country, taking the total caseload to 41,05,930 a day after crossing the 40-lakh mark, as per data collated by TOI from state governments. This was the fourth peak in daily cases in the past four days.