India's richest state suffers surge in COVID-19 cases

MUMBAI: New coronavirus infections in India rose by the most in more than three months as a second wave of the epidemic gathered momentum, with Maharashtra, the country's richest state, accounting for two-thirds of the latest daily tally.

Home to India's commercial capital Mumbai, the western state reported 23,179 of the country's 35,871 new cases in the past 24 hours, and the fast spreading contagion in major industrial areas raised risks of companies' production being disrupted. India's total cases stood at 11.47 million, the highest after the United States and Brazil. Deaths rose by 172 to 159,216, according to health ministry data released on Thursday.