NEW DELHI - Malls and temples opened across India on Monday after a 10-week lockdown, despite a record daily rise in new cases and predictions that the epidemic will worsen for weeks to come.
The government has risked easing restrictions in a bid to ease the devastating blow to the economy dealt by the coronavirus.
But the number of new cases rose by 9,983 to 256,611, according to government figures announced Monday, putting the country of 1.3 billion on course to quickly overtake Britain and Spain among nations with the highest number of infections.
The reported death toll of 7,135 is lower than other badly-hit countries, but India's epidemic is only expected to peak in July. Many experts say the toll is higher.
In the capital, Delhi, shopping malls, restaurants, temples and mosques re-opened for the first time since March 25.
But highlighting the city's reputation as one of India's worst coronavirus hotspots, one day after announcing the reopening, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal went into isolation with virus symptoms including a fever.
The worst traffic jams in many weeks were seen in the city of 20 million people. But the public response to being able to shop and pray was tentative. There was only a trickle of people at most places of worship.
Businessman Mohit Budhiraja, wearing a mask and carrying sanitiser, went to his local temple in eastern Delhi for the first time since the lockdown.
"It felt like something was missing when I couldn't come to the temple for all these weeks," he said. "I hope things improve, but now I will come every day."
Many temples set up sanitisation tunnels at entrances and barred worshippers from bringing offerings.
"People are having their temperature tested twice before they get in," said Ravindra Goel, a trustee of the Jhandewalan temple, one of the oldest in Delhi.
The 400-year-old Jama Masjid mosque, one of the biggest in India, planned only three prayers a day instead of the usual five for Muslims. Worshippers also had to bring their own prayer mats.(FA)