Coronavirus: India reports 30,548 new COVID-19 cases

India has registered 30,548 new confirmed coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, the lowest in four months, despite a surge in the capital New Delhi.

The Health Ministry on Monday raised India’s official tally to more than 8.84 million. It said the country was showing a trend of declining average daily cases over the last two months. The ministry also reported 435 deaths in the same period, driving total fatalities to 130,070.

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India’s daily cases have seen a steady decline since the middle of September, but its capital New Delhi is battling the latest surge, recording more new cases than any other Indian state. Experts have attributed the surge to the festive season, dangerous pollution levels and the dip in temperatures.

Concerns remain over the ability of New Delhi’s health infrastructure to handle the severe caseload.

To tackle the rise in infections, India’s home ministry said it will airlift doctors from other regions to the capital, double the current testing numbers and provide 300 additional intensive care unit beds to fight the spread of the virus.

On Sunday, India’s health minister Harsh Vardhan said the capital’s surge is “likely to worsen over next few weeks.”

A country of nearly 1.4 billion people, India is the world’s second most coronavirus affected country after the United States.

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