More than 71,000 people in India have died of covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, making it the worst-affected nation in Asia.

Unlike the United States and Brazil, where the number of new cases have eased in recent weeks, India’s outbreak shows no sign of peaking. Since early August, India has been reporting the highest daily increases in cases in the world.

Infections have spread from major cities to every corner of the country, including to rural areas that are poorly equipped to test and treat patients.

Earlier this spring, India instituted the world’s largest lockdown to try to stem the pandemic. But the restrictions caused economic devastation and failed to reverse the trajectory of the outbreak. In early June, the government changed course.

Jayaprakash Muliyil, a leading Indian epidemiologist, predicted that India’s daily reported cases will continue to rise in coming weeks. He estimates that the daily cases could double over the next month before retreating.

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[Source: Washington Post]