India overtakes Russia to become world’s third hardest-hit nation in pandemic

India on Sunday surpassed Russia with the number of COVID-19 cases, to become the country with the third-highest number in the world.

Adding just under 24,000 new Coronavirus cases late Sunday, India’s total is now at 697,836, according to Worldometer data.

In its daily update, India’s health ministry on Sunday reported the record spike in cases and stated that 613 people had died in 24 hours.

India’s count surpassed Russia’s current caseload of 681,251. With this, only the US and Brazil have recorded higher numbers of COVID cases than India.

According to local news reports, this surge in numbers came as infections rose in the western and southern parts of the country amid heavy monsoon rains.

NDTV stated that Maharashtra, the worst-hit state and home to the densely packed financial hub Mumbai, recorded over 7,000 new cases while Tamil Nadu and Delhi recorded more than 4,200 and 2,500 fresh cases respectively.

The surge in cases in India comes despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi has imposed one of the world’s strictest lockdowns in March to control the virus spread.

Authorities have made wearing masks mandatory in public places, while large gatherings are banned and shops and other public establishments are required to implement social distancing.

But epidemiologists have told India’s media that the country’s peak could still be weeks or months away, suggesting the country’s already severely overburdened healthcare system will come under further stress.