India sees 83,000 new virus cases, but numbers falling

India reported more than 83,000 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, showing some decline after reaching a record a week earlier.

The country has now confirmed more than 5.6 million cases. The health ministry also reported 1,085 new fatalities, raising the death toll to 90,020.

India is expected to become the world's worst-hit country within weeks, surpassing the United States, where nearly 6.9 million people have been infected by the virus.

But the past week has seen some improvement in India, with the numbers dropping after a record 97,894 new cases were reported on Sept. 16.

Balram Bhargava, director-general of the Indian Council for Medical Research, said Tuesday that vaccines with at least 50% efficacy will be approved for use against the coronavirus. That's the benchmark set by the World Health Organization, as no vaccine for respiratory diseases is 100% effective, Bhargava told reporters.