India reported a record 145,384 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday and the highest number of deaths in more than five months, as it grapples with an overwhelming second-wave of infections that has forced the state of Maharashtra to impose a weekend lockdown. Deaths rose by 794 to a total of 168,436, health ministry data showed. India’s overall case load has swelled to 13.21 million, the third-highest globally, behind the United States and Brazil. India has reported the most number of cases in the world in the past week, breaching the 100,000 mark for the first time on Monday and four times after that. The government blames the resurgence mainly on crowding and a reluctance to wear masks as businesses have nearly fully reopened since February, only to be partially shut again to control the current surge. Maharashtra, the Indian state with […]