India surpasses 5 million coronavirus cases, 82,066 deaths
AP
People wait in a queue to register their names to have their nasal swab samples taken to test for COVID-19 at a government hospital in Jammu, India, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020. India confirmed more than 83,000 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, bringing its total caseload to nearly 5 million. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)
NEW DELHI (AP) — India’ coronavirus confirmed cases crossed 5 million on Wednesday, still soaring and testing the country’s feeble health care system in tens of thousands of impoverished towns and villages.
The Health Ministry reported 90,123 new cases in the past 24 hours, raising the nation’s confirmed total to 5,020,359, about 0.35% of its nearly 1.4 billion population. It said 1,290 more people died in the past 24 hours, for a total of 82,066.
India’s total coronavirus caseload is closing in on the United States’ highest tally of more than 6.6 million cases and expected to surpass it within weeks.