New Delhi, June 6 (RHC)-- The number of COVID-19 cases in India has been doubling every three weeks but the epidemic is not growing exponentially in the country and South Asia region, according to the WHO.

"In South Asia, not just in India, but in Bangladesh and ... Pakistan and other countries of South Asia with large dense populations, the disease has not exploded, but there is always the risk of that happening," Mike Ryan, WHO's top emergency expert, told a news conference.

Soumya Swaminathan, WHO's chief scientist, noting India has a population of 1.3 billion, said the 200,000 reported cases "look big but for a country of this size it's still modest".