India records highest daily spike with 2,600+ cases

The tally of coronavirus cases in India crossed the 40,000 mark, with a record 2,644 new cases registered in the last 24 hours, the Health Ministry data revealed on Sunday.

The death toll in the country have also touched 1,306, with 83 deaths over the past day, which is the highest single day figure.

Some 25 personnel of the Border Security Force (BSF) tested positive for the virus on Sunday, taking the tally in the force to 42, said an official. These cases were reported from personnel posted in Delhi.

Meanwhile, V K Paul, a member of NITI Aayog, a policy think tank of the government, said that the continuous rise in the number of people testing positive for coronavirus is expected to stabilize anytime soon.

In an interview to the news agency Press Trust of India (PTI), Paul said: "The rationale behind the government's decision to extend the lockdown by two more weeks after May 3 is to consolidate the gains of the first and second phase of restrictions."

COVID-19 cases have been reported in 187 countries and regions since it emerged in China last December, with the US and Europe now the hardest-hit areas.

The pandemic has killed more than 244,000 people, with total infections over 3.45 million, while just over 1.1 million people have recovered from the disease, according to figures compiled by the US' Johns Hopkins University.