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Coronavirus pandemic
AsiaSouth Asia

India overtakes China in number of coronavirus cases, as 23 migrant workers killed in crash

  • India has reported over 85,000 Covid-19 infections, surpassing China’s number of cases, as officials say a strict lockdown has reduced the spread
  • The seven-week lockdown has affected hundreds of millions of migrant workers, with 23 killed in a crash in Uttar Pradesh while heading home

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Migrant workers desperate to return to their homes in other Indian states wait for transport to a railway station in Ahmedabad. India’s coronavirus cases have topped 85,000, but officials say the nationwide lockdown has curbed a wider spread. Photo: AP
Reuters
India’s total novel coronavirus cases rose to 85,940 on Saturday, taking it past China, where the pandemic originated last year, though a strict lockdown enforced since late March has reduced the rate of contagion. This came as at least 23 migrant workers were killed in a road crash as they returned to their home villages.
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State leaders, businesses and working class Indians have called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reopen the battered economy, but the government is expected to extend the lockdown, which would otherwise expire on Sunday, though with fewer restrictions.

So far the death rate in India appears far better, according to health ministry data, with 2,752 fatalities reported, compared with China’s 4,600. The toll in the United States, United Kingdom and Italy is much higher.

A health worker checks the temperature of a passenger inside a train, after India’s giant rail network resumed operations. Photo: Reuters
A health worker checks the temperature of a passenger inside a train, after India’s giant rail network resumed operations. Photo: Reuters

Health Minister Harsh Vardhan was also encouraged by the slowing rate of infection, as it now takes 11 days for the number of cases to double, whereas before the lockdown cases were doubling every three and a half days.

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“Clearly the situation has improved due to lockdown. We have utilised this period of lockdown to accelerate public health measures such as case detection, contact tracing, isolation and management of cases,” Vardhan said.

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