India Sets New Global Record of Over 4,500 COVID Deaths in One Day, Surpassing U.S. On 5/19/21 at 8:34 AM EDT India set the world record Wednesday for the most coronavirus deaths in a single day. The Health Ministry reported 4,529 deaths in the past 24 hours, pushing India's confirmed COVID-19 deaths to 283,248. There were also 267,334 new cases reported Wednesday. However, health experts believe these numbers are undercounted, especially in rural areas, due to weak data and the government's late response. "The national story hid what was going on in rural India and it continues to be fairly invisible," mathematician Murad Banaji told the Associated Press.