Corona virus: Is India the next global hotspot?

The corona virus took hold slowly in India, but six months after its first confirmed infection it has overtaken Russia to record the world's third largest caseload.

With the world's second-largest population, much of which lives packed into cities, the country was perhaps always destined to become a global hotspot.

But the data behind its case numbers is questionable, because India is not testing enough, and an unusually low death rate has baffled scientists.

Here's five things we know about the spread of corona virus in India.

1. India's cases are rising fast

India has seen a series of record spikes recently, adding tens of thousands of cases daily

2. India is just not testing enough

India's official caseload is high in absolute numbers, but it's relatively low in per capita terms. The world, on average, has three times as many cases as India per capita - a fact pointed out by the government recently.

But, India's per capita caseload is low simply because it tests so little.

Compare India to countries that have a high per capita caseload and you will find those countries are testing far more.

3. India's recovery numbers are promising

The data suggests that those in India who have been diagnosed with the virus are recovering from it faster than they are dying from it.

This is crucial, because it determines the strain on the health system. Currently, deaths are rising more slowly than confirmed cases or recoveries - but if that rate quickens, it would increase the pressure on hospitals, possibly driving up deaths.

4. India's death rate is very low

"It's a fraction of what you are seeing in Western Europe," said Shamika Ravi, an economist and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.

5. Each Indian state tells us a different story

Much like the US or the European Union, corona virus statistics vary widely across India's states. Three states - Delhi, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu - account currently for about 60% of the country's caseload.