India Nears 2 Crore Coronavirus Cases As Europe Eyes Reopening

In India cases have soared by around 80 lakh since the end of March, with PM Modi under growing pressure to take decisive action to reverse the surge.

India's total coronavirus caseload neared two crore Monday, in stark contrast to gradual reopenings in Europe and other wealthier parts of the world where rapid vaccination programmes have helped keep new cases down. Highlighting the inequalities, the World Health Organization on Monday pleaded with the G7 group of wealthy nations to dig deep and fund the global Covid-19 recovery, warning the crisis cannot be resolved worldwide if they do not step up. In India cases have soared by around 80 lakh since the end of March, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi under growing pressure to take decisive action to reverse the surge. Meanwhile Europe is looking at easing travel restrictions on foreign tourists as early as next month, if they are fully vaccinated or come from a country with Covid under control.