INDIAN STATES IMPOSE STRICTER LOCKDOWNS AS COVID DEATHS HIT RECORD HIGH

India on Saturday reported its highest ever single-day COVID-19 death toll, as cases continued to rise and states imposed stricter lockdowns. India’s health ministry reported 4,187 fatalities over the past 24 hours, taking the overall death toll close to 240,000. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation estimates that India will see 1 million COVID deaths by August. Cases rose by 401,078 on Saturday, bringing the total since the start of the pandemic to 21.9 million. Medical experts say the real numbers of COVID-19 cases and fatalities are likely to be far higher than official tallies. Neighbouring Karnataka state extended a total shutdown late on Friday. The state capital Bengaluru is a major tech hub, home to major offices of companies including Google (GOOGL.O), Amazon (AMZN.O) and Cisco (CSCO.O).