India Loosens Restrictions, Despite Coronavirus Surge

Despite surging infections, India lifts its lockdown. Its coronavirus cases are skyrocketing, putting it among the world’s most worrisome pandemic zones. Nonetheless, India is lifting its lockdown — at what experts fear may be the worst time. Migrant workers are becoming infected at an alarmingly high rate, leading to fresh outbreaks in villages across northern India. Almost half of the country’s 160,000 known cases have been traced to just four cities: New Delhi, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Mumbai, where public hospitals are so overwhelmed that patients have taken to sleeping on cardboard in the hallways. Testing has also been severely restricted, making it tough to gauge the scope of the outbreak. India has administered only two tests for every 1,000 people, one of the lowest ratios among the world’s worst-afflicted countries. The testing is increasing, and officials have sounded alarms about an increasing proportion of positive results.