India daily coronavirus infections cross 152,000

By Ahmad Adil

NEW DELHI (AA) - India registered more than 152,000 new cases during the past 24 hours on Sunday, according to officials figures.

The Health Ministry said the number of cases stood at 13.3 million while the death toll is 169,275 which includes 839 new fatalities.

Figures show that western Maharashtra continues to be the worst affected state. Even as it announced new restrictions, authorities are now discussing a complete lockdown to prevent further spread in the state. The Maharashtra government has said that it is short on vaccines and several vaccination centers have been temporarily closed.

The government in the capital of New Delhi announced more restrictions to curb the virus late Saturday, including a ban on political and large gatherings. Several cities and towns have announced night curfews and weekend lockdowns.

The country launched its vaccination drive on Jan. 16.

Authorites said late Saturday that "India has scaled another peak in its effort to contain the COVID-19 virus with the administration of more than 100 million vaccines to its citizens."

India’s cases are now close to Brazil’s which is the second most affected country in the world in terms of infections after the US, according to John Hopkins University, which compiles the coronavirus figures.