'I am strong. I think I can possibly overcome this but it is a shock,' said Sojan.

India reported a record daily high of 97,570 cases on Sept. 11 and has added more than 1 million cases this month alone.

The five men were hunters and will be quarantined for 14 days as a precaution against the coronavirus before being handed over to their families, the army said in a statement.

The growth in infections in India is faster than anywhere else in the world, as cases surge through urban and rural areas.

Since last week, the two countries have accused one another of sending soldiers into the other's territory and firing warning shots for the first time in 45 years, threatening a full-scale military conflict.

China described it as the first exchange of fire between the countries in 45 years.

India has also been reporting the highest single-day caseload in the world for more than a month.

China's western military command said the incursion occurred Monday along the southern coast of Pangong Lake in the area known in Chinese as Shenpaoshan.

India's increasing coronavirus caseload made the Asian giant the world's second-worst-hit country behind the United States on Monday, as its efforts to head off economic disaster from the pandemic gain urgency.

The Health Ministry on Saturday also reported 1,089 deaths for a total of 69,561.