India has reported a record 9,887 new coronavirus cases in one day, overtaking Italy as the world’s sixth-biggest outbreak, two days before the relaxing of a lockdown with the reopening of malls, restaurants and places of worship.

With its total number of cases rising to more than 236,000, India now has fewer infections than only the United States, Brazil, Russia, Britain and Spain, according to a Reuters tally.

However, India’s toll of deaths from Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus, is 6,642, small compared with those other countries.

The World Health Organisation has said that India’s lockdown had helped it dampen down transmission of the disease, but there was a risk the cases could rise again.