India's virus deaths pass 100,000
India passed a grim milestone Saturday (October 3) as its death toll from COVID-19 soared past 100,000.
It's the third country after the United States and Brazil to record more than 100,000 deaths and its epidemic shows no sign of abating.
The country's health ministry said total deaths rose to 100,842, while the tally of infections climbed to 6.47 million after a daily increase in cases of 79,476.
India now has the highest rate of daily increase in infections in the world.
But Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government is continuing to push ahead with a full opening of the country.
Cinemas were allowed to re-open at half capacity this week and authorities can decide to re-open schools from mid October.
Health experts say with the country heading into winter and the the Hindu festival of Diwali next month, the world's second most populous country could see another jump in cases.
The United States, Brazil and India together account for nearly 45% of all COVID-19 deaths globally.
Death rates in India, however, have been significantly lower than in the other two countries, raising questions about the accuracy of its data.
