India reaches 6 million confirmed coronavirus cases

India has hit 6 million diagnosed coronavirus cases, making second only to the U.S. in the number of reported infections worldwide.

The country's health ministry on Sunday tallied 82,710 new cases. India also reports roughly 95,500 virus-related deaths, though the country also has the highest number of recovered virus patients.

The heavily populated country is expected to take the lead from the United States, where the total infection number is more than 7.1 million and the death tally is roughly 200,000.

India is the second-most populated country in the world with roughly 1.33 billion people, followed by the U.S. with roughly 329 million people. China has the most with 1.4 billion.

Despite India's soaring numbers, most parts of the country have effectively reopened to try to repair an economy hurt by the virus-related shutdown. In March, India went into a full lockdown, confining its 1.4 billion residents to their homes and shuttering stores and businesses. 

Now, as many activities have resumes, residents are practicing more social-distancing in public and wearing masks, according to the Associated Press. On Sunday, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan stressed that the public must continue with such efforts. 

“We are far from having achieved any kind of herd immunity, which necessitates that all of us should continue following COVID-appropriate behavior,” he tweeted.