The Latest: India PM warns virus spreading to rural areas

NEW DELHI — India’s prime minister has warned people to take extra precautions as the country's devastating coronavirus outbreak is spreading fast to rural areas where nearly two-thirds of the country's nearly 1.4 billion people live.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged people living in rural areas, village councils and state governments to come together to meet the challenge. Modi said the army, navy and the air force have joined the fight against the pandemic in the country.

“We have lost a lot of near ones. I am feeling the pain people are suffering,” Modi said in Friday a speech at a farmers’ convention.

Meanwhile, India’s Health Ministry on Friday reported reported 343,144 new cases in the past 24 hours, a slight decline from the day before. Another 4,000 people died in the past 24 hours, raising total fatalities to 262,317 since the pandemic began. All of the figures are almost certainly a vast undercount, experts say.

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THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:

— CDC: Fully vaccinated people can largely ditch masks indoors

— Misinformation surges amid India’s COVID-19 calamity

— Beset by virus, Gaza’s hospitals now struggle with wounded

— UK set to rediscover freedom after vaccination success

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— Follow more of AP’s pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine

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