India surpasses Italy, becomes sixth-worst COVID-19-hit nation with over 2.36 lakh cases

PTI photo

New Delhi: India went past Italy to become the sixth worst-hit nation by the COVID-19 pandemic with the country registering a record single-day jump of 9,887 coronavirus cases and 294 deaths on Saturday (June 6), pushing the nationwide infection tally to 2,36,657 and the death toll to 6,642. 

India is now the sixth-worst affected nation in terms of coronavirus infection after the United States, Brazil, Russia, Spain and the United Kingdom. Italy, Peru, Germany and Turkey also find a mention in the list of 10 worst-hit countries by coronavirus. 

According to WHO, measures taken in India such as the nationwide lockdown have had an impact in slowing transmission but the risk of an increase in cases looms as the country opens up. It added that the over 200,000 current coronavirus cases in India, a country of over 1.3 billion people, 'look big but for a country of this size, it's still modest'.

The organisation added that that India is a heterogeneous and huge country with very densely populated cities and much lower density in some rural areas and varying health systems in different states and these offer challenges to the control of COVID-19.

The lockdown in India, was first clamped on March 25 and spanned for 21 days, while the second phase of the curbs began on April 15 and stretched for 19 days till May 3. The third phase of the lockdown was in effect for 14 days and ended on May 17. The fourth phase ended on May 31.

The country had registered 512 coronavirus infection cases till March 24.

The nation-wide lockdown in containment zones will continue till June 30 in India but extensive relaxations in a phased manner from June 8 are listed in the Union Home Ministry's fresh guidelines on tackling the COVID-19 pandemic issued last week.