India reports more than 200,000 new COVID-19 cases for first time

NEW DELHI: India reported a record 200,739 COVID-19 cases over the last 24 hours, according to data issued by the health ministry on Thursday (Apr 15).

Deaths stood at 1,038, taking the total to 173,123, the data showed.

The country's total case load reached 14.1 million, second to the United States that leads the global tally with 31.4 million cases. 

READ: India's new COVID-19 infections hit record as Hindu devotees immerse in Ganges

After reporting fewer than 10,000 cases per day earlier this year, India has been the world's worst-hit country since Apr 2. The government blames a widespread failure to heed curbs on movement and social interaction among the population of 1.39 billion people.

India health authorities earlier said they will fast-track emergency approvals for COVID-19 vaccines that have been authorised by Western countries and Japan, paving the way for possible imports of Pfizer-BioNTech, Johnson & Johnson, Novavax and Moderna shots.

The move will drop the need for companies to do small, local safety trials for their vaccines before seeking emergency approval.

India, the world's biggest maker of vaccines, has so far administered more than 106 million doses of COVID-19 shots, but many states are now running short of supplies as inoculations expand due to surging cases.

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