Amid reeling through the extended phases of the nationwide lockdown and assertions from the Central government on tackling the spread of COVID-19 pandemic, India has attained a never-wished feat on Friday as the country's tally has surpassed the mark of 1 million by reporting over 10 lakh cases, becoming the third worst-hit country by the virus in the world after the United States and Brazil. 

Experts say the never-wished feat in the sequel of the unprecedented spikes has exemplified the grounds of rapid spread in the smaller towns amid the spread in the metro cities. According to the Union Health Ministry, India has reported 10,03,832 COVID-19 cases so far as of Friday morning 8 am of which 3,42,473 are active, 6,35,757 have been recovered, and 25,602 had succumbed to the viral infection.

In the last 24 hours, the country has reported yet another spike of 34,956 new cases, 22,942 fresh discharges, and 687 deaths. As a warning note, Epidemiologists have said that India is months away from hitting the period of peaking cases. One million cases for India with a population of over 1.3 billion are still low and the cases will significantly rise in the upcoming months as the country has been pacing up the testings. 

Speaking to Reuters, an epidemiologist attached to one of the non-profit organizations in India said that the country would bound to see more and more cases in the coming months as its the natural progression of any pandemic. He further stated that the country's goal has to be lower mortality and the states would face a critical challenge of installing medical facilities and more hospital beds. 

As the country braces up with the new and uncertain feat, it has been hoping for unveiling two indigenous vaccine candidates that will enter human trials this month and more than 1,000 volunteers are to be enrolled for the process. According to the Union Health Ministry, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu are the two Indian states that contribute about 48% of the country's total active caseload and ten states account for 85% of the total active caseload. 

The country's recovery rate currently stands at 63.25% and the rate stood at 50% in the second week of June. The Health Ministry also asserted that the country's mortality rate is at 2.6% and it has been declining. India is the lowest in the world in the rate of COVID-19 deaths per million. Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said less than 2% of the COVID-19 patients are admitted to the Intensive Care Units.

As of Friday morning, the country has tested 1,30,72,718 samples so far including 3,33,228 that were tested in the last 24 hours. At the global stage, the United States tops the table with the most number of COVID-19 cases in the world as it has reported over 3.5 million cases and Brazil is at second spot with 2 million cases and these two countries have a population of over 400 million each - comparatively lower than India. 

Following Brazil, India stands in third place with 1 million cases and it is the eight country in the world with more COVID-19 deaths. India has reported 25,602 deaths so far. India's count has soared from 8 lakh to 10 lakh in six days while the country took nine days to hit 8 lakh from six lakh and eleven days to hit six lakh from four lakh. 

Experts, however, suggest that India less likely would have one peak for the whole country as the current surges are shifting from one place to another. As the COVID-19 wave exists and likely to threaten in the coming months, the country is hoping for a positive sign from the indigenous vaccines and the current state has also alarmed the need for the deployment of adequate beds and facilities in hospitals and strict containment measures.