WASHINGTON (NewsNation Now) — The U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Monday warned that the Indian economy, the sixth-largest in the world, could falter as a result of a record spike in coronavirus cases, creating a drag for the global economy.

Myron Brilliant, executive vice president of the Chamber, the biggest U.S. business lobby, said the risk of spillover effects was high given many U.S. companies use Indian workers to run their back-office operations.

“We expect that this could get worse before it gets better,” Brilliant told Reuters, citing a “real risk” the Indian economy would falter given the circumstances. “There’s a big concern about the draft on the economy by a devastating, spreading virus in India.”

University of Michigan Professor of Epidemiology Dr. Bhramar Mukherjee called the situation on the ground “miserable.”

“People are really clamoring for help and flocking to Twitter to get oxygen, to secure a hospital bed. It feels like there is no social net for any citizen in India,” stated Mukherjee.

India set a new record for coronavirus cases for the 5th day in a row with over 350,000 cases.

“Virus inferno has hit India,” said Mukherjee.

She added that the real degree of the surge is unclear because testing doesn’t account for how large the outbreak is.

“That is really a warning for other countries. Because the virus count was at low 10,000 cases, less than 100 deaths per day till February, and then we saw this uptick because people took caution to the wind,” said Mukherjee. “Massive political rallies, religious gatherings, weddings, all without mask-wearing, and that has led to this perfect storm along with waning immunity and potentially a more transmissible variant.”

Watch the full interview in the player above.