India overtakes Russia in virus cases

New Delhi – India has overtaken Russia to become the third worst-affected nation by the coronavirus after reporting 24,248 new cases Monday.

India has now confirmed 697,413 cases, including 19,693 deaths. Russia has 680,283 cases.

The U.S. has had the most cases, with nearly 2.9 million. Brazil is second, with over 1.6 million.

Indian authorities late Sunday withdrew a planned reopening of the famed Taj Mahal monument after new cases were detected in the area. India’s Culture Ministry had decided to reopen all monuments across the country on Monday after more than three months with a cap on the number of visitors and mandatory wearing of face masks.

After a strict nationwide lockdown, India has eased restrictions in most of the country except for the highest-risk areas.