MUMBAI • India reported 52,509 new cases of coronavirus yesterday, taking its tally of infections to more than 1.91 million - nevertheless, the authorities eased restrictions aimed at limiting its spread, allowing gyms and yoga studios to open.

India is one of the world's hardest-hit countries, with nearly 40,000 deaths from Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. But the Health Ministry said India's fatality rate was now 2.1 per cent, the lowest since the outbreak first appeared.

The government has been struggling to stop the spread of the virus while also trying to minimise the economic damage and the hardships that lockdowns inflict on the poor.

The authorities in the financial hub of Mumbai allowed shops in malls to reopen after more than four months of lockdown, as the number of cases in the city that was hard hit by the outbreak has begun to slowly decline.

Cinemas remain closed and restaurants in most parts of the country are offering only limited services. On testing for the virus, the ministry said 15,119 tests were being conducted for every one million people.

REUTERS