NEW DELHI -- India's COVID-19 cases are rising exponentially as a vicious second wave of the pandemic finds fertile grounds at a mega religious gathering of hundreds of thousands in the north and at mass election rallies in other regions.
On Thursday, daily new infections reached an all-time high of 200,739, breaching the 200,000 mark for the first time. The first wave peaked in mid-September at more than 97,000 daily cases.