India becomes 7th worst-hit country due to COVID-19

NEW DELHI -- India became the seventh worst-hit country due to COVID-19 pandemic as the World Health Organisation (WHO) COVID-19 tracker had placed the country on rank seven in the list.

India's federal health ministry said the total number of cases in the country reached 190,535 with 5,394 deaths on Monday.

According to the ministry, 8,392 positive cases were reported in the past 24 hours, which so far is the highest single-day spike in the cases across the country.

"The virus may be an invisible enemy. But our warriors, medical workers are invincible. In the battle of invisible versus invincible, our medical workers are sure to win," Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said during a video conference.

The federal government's three-phase unlock plan that will restrict curbs to containment zones kicks in from Monday as the fourth phase of the national lockdown ended on Sunday.

Health experts attribute the spike in cases to the increase in India's testing capacity and easing of restrictions.

India's top health research body Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said over 3.83 million samples had been tested until Monday morning, and 100,180 samples had been tested during the last 24 hours.

In India, the state of Maharashtra continues to report the highest number of cases, followed by Tamil Nadu and Delhi. Earlier this month director of India's premier health institute All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Dr Randeep Guleria said COVID-19 cases are likely to peak in the month of June and July.