India’s new coronavirus cases have dipped marginally but deaths due to the infection jumped by a record 3,689, with one more state going into lockdown as the nation’s creaky healthcare system is unable to cope with a massive caseload.

Authorities reported 392,488 new cases in the previous 24 hours to push total cases to 19.5 million. So far, the virus has killed 215,542 people.

Indian hospitals, morgues and crematoriums have been overwhelmed as the country has reported more than 300,000 daily cases for more than 10 days straight. Many families have been left on their own to scramble for medicines and oxygen.

Nearly 10 Indian states and union territories have imposed some form of restrictions, even as the federal government remains reluctant to impose a national lockdown, according to a Reuters report.

A patient suffering from coronavirus receives treatment inside the casualty ward at a hospital in New Delhi, India. — Reuters
A patient suffering from coronavirus receives treatment inside the casualty ward at a hospital in New Delhi, India. — Reuters

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