Bangladesh, May 10 -- With experts saying the coronavirus is likely spreading in India's northeastern state of Assam faster than anywhere else in the country, authorities were preparing Monday for a surge in infections by converting a massive stadium and a university into hospitals.

Cases in Assam started ticking upward a month ago and the official seven-day weekly average in the state on May 9 stood at more than 4,700 cases. But a model run by the University of Michigan - which predicts the current spread of cases before they are actually detected - says infections in Assam are likely occurring as fast as any other place in the country.

Add to that recent elections in the state - and the huge political rallies that accompanied them - a...