India coronavirus cases tally nears 3 million

On Saturday, India reported a record daily jump of coronavirus infections, bringing the total near 3 million and piling pressure on authorities to curb huge gatherings as a major religious festival began.

The 69,878 new infections – the fourth straight day above 60,000 – take India’s total cases to 2.98 million, behind only the United States and Brazil. COVID-19 deaths increased by 945 to 55,794, data from the federal health ministry showed.