India quarterly growth worst in two decades as lockdown bites - Covid-19 cases surpass 170,000, death toll at 4,971

Indians wearing masks travel in a ferry in Kochi, Kerala state, India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is preparing a new set of guidelines to be issued this weekend, possibly extending the lockdown in worst-hit areas while promoting economic activity elsewhere, with unemployment surging to 25%. - AP

NEW DELHI: The total number of Covid-19 (coronavirus) cases in India surpassed 170,000-mark, reaching 173,763 on Saturday (May 30) and the death toll stood at 4,971, said the data issued by the federal health ministry.

To make it worst, India's economy grew at its slowest pace in at least two decades last quarter, government data showed Friday, with warnings of far worse to come as it grapples with the fallout of the world's largest coronavirus lockdown.