India’s coronavirus cases top 1.8 million

The number of confirmed cases in India of the novel coronavirus surpassed 1.8 million Monday, according to data from the Ministry of Health.

The tally now stands at 1,803,695 with 38,135 deaths.

The chief minister of the southern Indian state of Karnataka, BS Yediyurappa, along with his daughter were hospitalized late Sunday after testing positive for the virus. Union Home Minister Amit Shah also tested positive.

The Indian Council of Medical Research in a statement said 20,202,858 samples in the country were tested for COVID-19 until Sunday. Out of this, 381,027 tests were conducted on Sunday alone.

The highest number of cases were reported from states like Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Delhi. However, India's recovery rate is continuously improving and now stands at 65.8%, according to the Health Ministry.

India has the third highest number of COVID-19 cases in the world after the US and Brazil.

The coronavirus pandemic has claimed more than 688,000 lives in 188 countries and regions since originating in Wuhan, China last December.

Over 18 million cases have been reported worldwide with recoveries exceeding 10.6 million, according to figures compiled by US-based Johns Hopkins University.