India reports single-day record 16,000 new coronavirus cases

India on Wednesday recorded a new single-day record of coronavirus cases, 15,968, bringing the nationwide total to 456,183, according to the country’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

As of Tuesday, India has conducted a total of 7.35 million COVID-19 tests with a record number of those, 215,195 tests, issued that day, The Wall Street Journal reported.

According to Worldometer, India has experienced a seven-day moving average of nearly 600 deaths per day, going from a total of 465 deaths in April to 14,476 as of Tuesday.

The country has recently faced a problematic uptick in reported cases since pandemic restrictions have been rolled back following a two-month lockdown.

India underwent one of the most significant pandemic lockdowns, calling on 1.3 billion people to shelter inside their homes, the New York Times’s South Asia bureau chief, Jeffrey Gettleman, told CBS News.

“Most people followed the instructions. They didn’t go out to the parks; they didn’t socialize. They stayed indoors,” Gettleman said.

Gettleman said it was the fear of overwhelming hospitals and lack of trust in the public health care system in India that drove the population to follow lockdown guidelines strictly. Still, the necessity of work and food caused the government to lift the lockdowns to allow people to go back to their jobs.

Low-income families who work in factories, labor, construction, tourism and travel have seen the brunt of the economic impact of the virus. An estimated 110 million people in the country have lost their jobs due to the pandemic.

In recent days, India has also faced rising tensions with China over the two countries’ disputed Himalayan border, where a brawl between soldiers last week caused at least 20 casualties.