India Crosses 20 Lakh Cases Of Coronavirus, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh Record Massive Spike

India logged more than 20 lakh cases on August 6 with the countrywide figure standing at 20,06,760. India is just behind Brazil, which has more than 2.8 million cases and the US, which is leading the list of nations hit worst by the pandemic, with close to 5 million cases. By July 28, India had recorded more than 1.5 million cases. The new 5,00,000 cases came over nine days, with an average of 50,000 fresh cases logged each day. On the morning of August 6, health ministry data showed India has added more than 56,000 cases, taking the total to 19.65 lakh. A total of 13.28 lakh patients have recovered so far, over 40,000 have lost their lives. In the last 24 hours, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh were the five states that recorded the highest surge in cases. Maharashtra is the state worst-hit by the deadly outbreak. Over the last week, several top political leaders - including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa & his daughter, Congress MP Karti Chidambaram, Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan & others tested positive for the disease. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Chouhan, who contracted it earlier, was released from the hospital on August 5. On August 6, the global tally of COVID-19 cases exceeded 1,88,51,834. The infection has claimed 7,08,540 lives across the globe with the US leading in casualties followed by Brazil, Mexico and the United Kingdom. World Health Organization has, however, warned that there may never be a "silver bullet" for the new coronavirus.