Passengers enter a railway station in New Delhi, India, May 13, 2020. (Photo by Partha Sarkar/Xinhua)
India has become the 12th most-affected country due to the COVID-19 pandemic after recording a total of 74,281 cases. The country looks at easing its nearly seven-week strict lockdown as the fourth phase of lockdown will be imposed from May 18.
NEW DELHI, May 14 (Xinhua) -- India has become the 12th most-affected country on Wednesday due to the pandemic after recording a total of 74,281 COVID-19 cases and 2,415 deaths.
With these figures, India has crossed Canada's tally, which has 71,157 cases of COVID-19, according to World Health Organization (WHO) list.
According to top health research body Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 1,854,250 samples have been tested until Wednesday morning.
Passengers with their luggage entering New Delhi railway station in New Delhi on May 13, 2020. (Photo by Partha Sarkar/Xinhua)
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced a package worth 267 billion U.S. dollars during a televised address to tackle the impact of COVID-19 outbreak and weeks of lockdown on the economy.
The new package is equivalent to 10 percent of India's GDP.
Modi also said the country will enter into the fourth phase of lockdown to fight the COVID-19 pandemic with effect from May 18. The ongoing third phase of lockdown is slated to end on May 17.
India reopened partial rail network on Tuesday as the country looked at easing its nearly seven-week strict lockdown amid an increase in coronavirus infections.
The lockdown began on March 25. ■
