India records 53,480 coronavirus cases marking a slight decline

India reported 53,480 new cases of the coronavirus, health ministry data showed on Wednesday, the second day that cases have risen less than the day before.

Deaths were at their highest since mid-December, according to a Reuters tally, with 354 people dying of the coronavirus in the last 24 hours, the ministry said, taking total mortalities to 162,468.

India has been reporting a spike in cases this month, with its richest state of Maharashtra, home to the financial capital of Mumbai, accounting for a majority of its case load.

With more than 12 million cases of the coronavirus reported since the beginning of the outbreak last year, India is the third worst affected country in the world, after the United States and Brazil.