India's COVID tally passes 25 million; cyclone hampers response in western states

FILE PHOTO: Healthcare workers and relatives carry a woman from an ambulance for treatment at a COVID-19 care facility, amidst the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Mumbai, India, May 4, 2021. REUTERS/Niharika Kulkarni

AHMEDABAD, India (Reuters) -India's total COVID-19 caseload surged past 25 million on Tuesday as a powerful cyclone complicated the health crisis in the western states of Gujarat and Maharashtra, already among the hardest hit by a second wave of the pandemic.

COVID-19 tests were administered to 200,000 people evacuated from coastal districts of Gujarat before the cyclone struck late on Monday and efforts were being made to try to limit any spread of infections.