India posts record COVID-19 cases, 13-fold jump over two months

NEW DELHI (Reuters), 7 April, 2021 -India’s second wave of coronavirus infections continued to swell as it reported a record 115,736 new cases on Wednesday, a 13-fold increase in just over two months and raising pressure on the government to expand its vaccination campaign.The federal government has asked states to decide on local curbs to control the spread of the virus, but has so far refused to impose any national lockdown after the last one in 2020 devastated its economy and left millions of people penniless.  

The total number of cases since the first recorded infection in India just over a year ago now stands at 12.8 million, making it the third worst hit country after the United States and Brazil.  

Deaths rose by 630 - the most in four days - to 166,177, according to data from the health ministry.