The Latest: India's daily cases continue downward trend

NEW DELHI — India has registered 88,600 new confirmed coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours in a declining trend with recoveries exceeding daily infections.

The Health Ministry on Sunday also reported additional 1,124 deaths for a total of 94,503. The average of new cases has fallen by around 7,000 daily in the past week after reaching a record number of 97,894 on Sept. 16.

Still, India is expected to become the pandemic’s worst-hit country within weeks, surpassing the United States, where more than 7 million people have been infected.

Sunday’s surge has raised the country’s virus tally to over 5.9 million. India, however, also has the highest number of recovered patients in the world, according to Johns Hopkins University. Its recovery rate stands at about 82%.

Health experts have cautioned about two major events next month: the legislative election in Bihar state, with nearly 72 million people eligible to vote, and a major religious festival season that includes huge congregations.

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