An election officer checks the temperature of a voter before allowing voters to pass at a polling station. File/AP

Gulf Today Report

India on Thursday crossed a grim milestone of 8 million coronavirus cases as concerns grew over a major Hindu festival season and winter setting in.

India is moving toward the worst-hit country, the United States, which has over 8.7 million cases.

READ MORE

Macron imposes new virus lockdown in France

Myanmar s Suu Kyi casts early vote in poll hit by COVID-19 curbs

Pakistan orders early closure of businesses

According to the latest government figures there have now been 8,040,203 cases and 120,527 deaths across the country of 1.3 billion people. The US has seen 9.1 million cases and more than 230,000 deaths.

India could overtake the record of the United States, which has over 8.7 million cases. File photo

Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said in a recent statement that “All states need to be careful during the coming festive season. This caution must be exercised for the next three months at least.”

“I am shocked, but not surprised,” said Arvind Kumar, a New Delhi doctor. “There seems to be a sense of complacency in adhering to mask and distancing norms.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has warned the population in recent speeches that they are being "careless" in giving up social distancing and other precautions.

While businesses and theatres have slowly started to reopen, schools and colleages remain shut in most cities and international flights are severely limited.

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel ordered their countries back into lockdowns as Europe faces a second wave of infections.