India reports most new COVID cases in three weeks

Worrying trend of rising cases forces one state to lock down amid fears of another wave of infections.

India has reported 44,230 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, the highest in three weeks, the latest evidence of a worrying trend of rising cases that has forced one state to lock down amid fears of another wave of infections. India was battered by the Delta variant of the virus in April and May but the rate of spread of infections later eased off. It has again been rising, with higher numbers in seven of the past eight days. The nationwide tally of infections has reached 31.57 million, according to health ministry data on Friday. The number of deaths rose by 555 overnight, taking the overall toll to 423,217.