India registers over 30,000 new virus cases

India has registered 30,548 new confirmed coronaviruses cases in the past 24 hours, according to The Associated Press.

The Health Ministry on Monday raised India’s tally to more than 8.84 million.

It said the country was showing a trend of declining average daily cases over the last two months, according to The Associated Press.

The ministry also reported 435 deaths in the same period, driving total fatalities to 130,070.

India’s daily cases have seen a steady decline since the middle of September, but its capital New Delhi is battling the latest surge, recording more new cases than any other Indian state.

Experts have attributed the surge to the festive season, dangerous pollution levels and the dip in temperatures.

To tackle the rise in infections, India’s Home Ministry said it will airlift doctors from other regions to the capital, double the current testing numbers and provide 300 additional intensive care unit beds to fight the spread of the virus.

On Sunday, India’s health minister Harsh Vardhan said the capital’s surge is “likely to worsen over next few weeks.”

India is the world’s second most coronavirus affected country after the US.