India's coronavirus cases cross 600,000 amid easing of lockdowns

FILE PHOTO: Migrant workers and their families, who had left during a lockdown, walk at a platform after they returned from their home state of Uttar Pradesh, after authorities eased lockdown restrictions that were imposed to slow the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Ahmedabad, India July 1, 2020. REUTERS/Amit Dave

MUMBAI/GUWAHATI, India (Reuters) - India's coronavirus infections surpassed 600,000 on Thursday, with 17,834 deaths, as authorities battled to contain the pandemic while easing lockdown rules, officials and the health ministry said.

Fresh challenges to protect people from the virus emerged for disaster management officials in the northeast state of Assam amid torrential rainfall, where floods and landslides killed 57 people this week and more than 1.5 million were forced to flee their homes.