Bangladesh, Sept. 21 -- India on Monday registered nearly 87,000 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours and 1,130 deaths.

With the Health Ministry's announcement, India now has more than 5.4 million reported cases since the pandemic began, reports AP.

India's coronavirus caseload is expected to surpass that of the United States, currently with the most reported cases, within weeks.

India's total deaths in the pandemic now stand at 87,882.

More than 60 percent of the active cases are concentrated in five of 28 Indian states: Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.

Despite the steady increase in cases, the government has continued to relax virus restrictions in order to help an economy that contracted ...