India Surpasses UK To Become 4th Worst-Affected Nation By COVID-19

India has now surpassed the United Kingdom to jump to the fourth spot in the list of nations worst affected by COVID-19.

India has 295,772 cases as against 291,588 infections recorded in the UK, according to the Worldometre data. Five days ago, India had surpassed Spain to become the fifth-worst affected nation by COVID-19. It took just 18 days for the country to reach the fourth spot and is now behind three countries- the US, Brazil and Russia.

Cases in India have spiked to 297,538 while the death toll stands at 8,498 on Friday, as per figures released by the Union health ministry.

India was among the 10 worst-affected countries on May 24 and the number of COVID-19 cases has been on a substantial rise since then. It has been recording nearly 10,000 cases since June 2, leaving behind Italy and Spain, two countries that were badly affected by the deadly pandemic.

India recorded its first COVID-19 case on January 30 and took more than 100 days to touch the one lakh-mark on May 18. However, the additional one lakh cases were recorded in just about a fortnight.

The number of recoveries in India is more than the active cases for the second consecutive day. The number of active cases stands at 1,41,842, while 1,47,194 people have recovered and one patient has migrated.

"Thus, around 49.47 per cent patients have recovered so far," the ministry of health said.

The Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) on Friday informed that 53,63,445 samples have been tested in the country so far, with 1,50,305 tests conducted on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the apex medical research body has denied claims of community transmission in India. "

"India is not in community transmission and that's only a term which is used but we have to continue with the strategy of testing, tracing, tracking, and quarantine and continue with the containment measures as we have found success until now," ICMR DG Balram Bhargava said on Friday.

Globally, more than 7.5 million people have been infected by COVID-19 and over 420,000 have succumbed to the virus.

Also Read: India Now Fifth Most COVID-19 Affected Nation, Surpasses Spain