People wearing face masks as a precaution against the coronavirus in Jammu, India. File photo/AP

Gulf Today Report

As India celebrated the festival of lights, 30,548 new confirmed coronavirus cases surfaced in the past 24 hours on Monday. The ministry also reported 435 deaths in the same period, driving total fatalities to 130,070.

On Monday India has registered the lowest number of coronavirus cases in the last four months but there were growing concerns of the latest surge in the capital New Delhi. The Health Ministry on Monday raised India’s tally to more than 8.84 million.

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India now has 4,79,216 active cases after a net decrease of 1,503 cases due to the number of discharges and deaths in the last 24 hours, while 42,156 more cured patients took the total recoveries to 82,05,728, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) data shows.

Home Minister Amit Shah said on Sunday, India will fly doctors in from other regions, double the quantity of tests carried out and ensure people wear masks in efforts to contain the coronavirus spread in the capital New Delhi.

People wait for a screening of COVID-19 symptoms in Dharavi, Mumbai, India. File/AP

The Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement, “Amit Shah also directed that the hospital capacity and availability of other medical infrastructure should be ramped up considerably.”

While India's daily increase in cases has been under the 50,000 mark for eight straight days, around half its record peak, the city state of Delhi has recorded over 7,000 cases a day over the last five days — a record level.

India's Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said in a tweet on Sunday, “Delhi has witnessed a huge surge in daily active cases which is likely to worsen over next few weeks."

A country of nearly 1.4 billion people, India is the world’s second most coronavirus affected country after the United States.

Experts have attributed the surge to the festive season, dangerous pollution levels and the dip in temperatures.

Concerns remain over the ability of New Delhi’s health infrastructure to handle the severe caseload.