India coronavirus cases surge past 800,000 with new daily record cases
India has recorded its biggest daily surge of coronavirus cases, with the total number of diagnosed cases now standing at 800,000.
The jump of 27,114 cases in the past 24 hours has forced nearly a dozen states to impose partial lockdown in high-risk areas in order to limit the spread of Covid-19.
The new confirmed cases took the national total to 820,916. The Health Ministry also reported another 519 deaths for a total of 22,123.
A surge in infections saw the cases jumping from 600,000 to more than 800,000 in nine days. The ministry said the recovery rate was continuing to improve at more than 62%.
Eight of India’s 28 states, including the worst-hit Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and New Delhi, account for nearly 90% of all infections.
The most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, with nearly 230 million people, imposed a weekend lockdown while several others announced restrictions in districts reporting major spikes.
Meanwhile, South Korea has reported 35 new cases, bringing its coronavirus total to 13,373 infections and 288 deaths.
South Korea’s Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said 13 of the new cases were in the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area, which has been at the centre of a virus resurgence since late May. Infections were also reported in other major cities such as Daejeon and Gwangju.
Fifteen of the new cases were linked to international arrivals as the virus continues to spread in Asia, North America and elsewhere.
New Covid-19 cases have dropped sharply in China, and authorities are turning their attention to concerns that the virus could spread through imported food.
Those worries have risen since a June outbreak in Beijing that was linked to the city’s largest wholesale market.
Testing has been stepped up on incoming food shipments, and on Friday customs officials said they are halting imports from three Ecuadorian shrimp producers after tests showed the virus present in recent shipments.
Authorities say the coronavirus was detected on the outer packaging of the shipments on July 3. The inner packaging and the shrimp themselves tested negative. Products from the three companies received after March 12 have been ordered to be returned or destroyed.