India surpasses Spain to rank 5th in Covid tally

New Delhi: India on Saturday surpassed Spain to become the fifth worst-hit nation by the coronavirus pandemic, after a record spike in cases for four consecutive days pushed total infections in the country to 2,43,733. In less than 24 hours, India surpassed Italy and then Spain to reach the grim milestone. Now, only the US, Brazil, Russia and the UK are ahead of it.

According to the Union Health Ministry, India registered a record single-day spike of 9,971 cases and 294 deaths, pushing the tally to 2,46,658 and the death toll to 6,929. The country registered over 9,000 cases for the third day in a row.

India on an average added 8,985 cases daily over the past week, overtaking Russia. That compares with Brazil adding 24,915 cases, and the US 21,413 on an average every day in the last one week.

India's confirmed coronavirus cases have surpassed the count of France, Germany and China among others. Even as confirmed cases continue to mount in India, the lockdown will be lifted in phases from June 8.

Malls, restaurants and religious places will be allowed to open as the government aims to the economy that's headed for its first full-year contraction in more than four decades. Maharashtra, the worst-hit state in the country by the novel coronavirus, has reported 2,739 fresh Covid-19 cases, and 120 deaths, in the last 24 hours.