Wed 28 October 2020:
India’s tally of coronavirus cases stood less than 10,000 away from the grim milestone of 8 million, as 43,893 new cases were reported in the last 24 hours, data from the federal health ministry showed.
Deaths in India have been relatively low, totaling 120,010, out of which 508 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours.
India has the world’s second-largest number of confirmed coronavirus cases, after the United States.
Last month, the country hit a peak of nearly 100,000 cases in a single day, but since then daily cases have fallen by about half and deaths by about a third.
Soon, almost 1 billion Indians will celebrate Diwali, the Hindu festival of light, with socialising an intrinsic feature of the celebrations.
Even though the government is expecting consumer spending to take off during the festival, which in turn could help to resuscitate the ailing economy, it is also worried about people packing together, forgoing social distancing and masks.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned earlier this week in a televised speech that “any laxity” during the season “could strain India’s health system.”
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