New Delhi:

India raced towards the second spot in the list of nations hit worst by the coronavirus pandemic, crossing the 1.5 million mark this evening. Brazil is currently in the second spot with 2.4 million cases, preceded by the US, which has 4.2 million cases. Overall, 16.5 million people contracted the disease around the world, with 654,860 fatalities.

Reports say India has the world’s fastest growth rate. The World Health Organization has said that pandemic is “still accelerating” in India. Over the last few days, the country has been reporting nearly 50,000 fresh infections every day. From the 1 lakh mark on May 16, it took India just 181 days to cross the 15 lakh mark.

A seven-day moving average of the fresh coronavirus figures indicated today that India is increasing its tally at a rate of 3.6 per cent — significantly higher than US at 1.7 per cent and Brazil at 2.4 per cent. If the rate is not brought down, India risks surpassing the US in a little over two months.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India is in a “better position than other countries” because of the “right decision at the right time”.

The data in India has mostly been fed by the increasing numbers from southern states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka and the western state of Maharashtra. The number of fatalities from the disease stands at 33,425 with another 654 deaths reported today.

This morning, data from the health ministry showed that the country has recorded 47,703 fresh infections — a marginal drop from the 49,000-plus cases logged on Monday morning.

The drop has been brought about by the declining figures in Delhi, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra — three of the hardest-hit states.

Delhi reported a 42 per cent drop in coronavirus cases over the previous day – from 1,075 to 613, Andhra Pradesh 20 per cent – from 7,627 to 6,051 and Maharashtra 16 per cent – from 9,431 to 7,924, data shows.