NEW DELHI, Sept 08 (Reuters): India recorded its highest daily deaths from the coronavirus in more than a month on Tuesday, even as new infections slowed, data from the health ministry showed.
The health ministry said 1,133 people had died of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, the highest since July, taking total mortalities to 72,775. But new daily cases were at 75,809, the lowest in a week.
India surpassed Brazil on Monday to become the country with the most number of coronavirus cases outside of the United States and has a cumulative caseload of 4.28 million.
India reports highest 1,133 new deaths
India, one of the most populous countries, has been reporting the highest single-day caseload in the world for more than a month now.
The rise in cases is partly due to increased testing. The number of daily tests conducted across the country has risen to more than a million. Nearly 3.3 million people have recovered from COVID-19 so far.
The pandemic has been economically devastating for India. Its economy contracted nearly 24 percent in the second quarter, the worst among the world's top economies.
Experts say there is no sign of a peak as cases surge in the world's second most populous country, both in major cities, such as New Delhi and the financial hub of Mumbai, and rural areas that have limited access to health services.
It's becoming a double burden now," Rajib Dasgupta, a professor of community health at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in the capital, told Reuters.
"The urban areas are not slowing down and rural areas are picking up."