NEW DELHI/MALE : The number of people infected with the coronavirus crossed 22,000 in densely populated South Asia on Friday driven by a rise in cases in India as the tiny Indian Ocean island nation of Maldives locked down its capital.
Health officials have warned that the region, home to a fifth of the world's population, could be the new frontline against the disease because of millions living in packed slums and fragile public health systems.
India's caseload rose to 13,387, a jump of nearly 700 over the previous day, despite a harsh lockdown now in its fourth week and which will last at least until early May.
Authorities have identified a fifth of India's hundreds of districts as red zones with the highest number of cases, including