India's coronavirus caseload has become the fourth-highest in the world, overtaking Britain.
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10,956 new cases have been added in a single-day
India's two-month lockdown kept transmission low but in a large population of 1.3 billion, people remain susceptible and the campaign against the virus is likely to go on for months, Balram Bhargava, director-general of the Indian Council of Medical Research, said.
India's lockdown was imposed nationwide in late March but has eased since, and it is now largely being enforced in high-risk areas. The spike in caseload came after India allowed the reopening of shops, shopping malls, manufacturing and religious places.
Subway, schools, colleges and movie halls, however, remain shuttered nationwide.
The increase reported on Friday raised India's national caseload to 297,535 with 8,498 deaths, according to the Health Ministry. The death toll increased 396 in the past 24 hours.
India's number of confirmed cases is behind only the United States, Brazil and Russia.
Australian Associated Press
