India reports 10,000 new cases before reopening

NEW DELHI (AP) – India reported 9,971 new coronavirus cases Sunday in another biggest single-day spike, a day before it prepares to reopen shopping malls, hotels and religious places after a 10-week lockdown.
India has now surpassed Spain as the fifth hardest-hit by the pandemic with 246,628 confirmed cases and 6,929 fatalities.

A priest leads relatives of person, who died of COVID-19, in prayers before lowering body into a grave in New Delhi, India, Friday, June 5, 2020. More states opened up and crowds of commuters trickled onto the roads in many of India’s cities as a three-phase plan to lift the nationwide coronavirus lockdown started despite an upward trend in new infections. (AP Photo / Manish Swarup)

New Delhi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad are among the worst-hit cities in the country. Six of India’s 28 states account for 73% of total cases.
India has already partially restored train services and domestic flights and allowed shops and manufacturing to reopen. E-commerce companies have started to deliver goods, including those considered nonessential, to places outside containment zones.

A priest cleans a door at the Shankar Viman Mandapam temple dedicated to Hindu God Shiva in Prayagraj, India, Saturday, June 5, 2020. Located on the banks of the Ganges river, this temple is built in memory of Adi Shankaracharya. (AP Photo / Rajesh Kumar Singh)