India’s COVID-19 cases are on the rise as thousands are overloaded with hospitals for access
NEW DELHI – Ever since the new COVID-19 pandemic hit, several parts of the world have had their own share of challenges with nations ravaging deep economic crises and deaths, thus virtually destroying operations, whether government or privately sponsored.
When the US, Brazil and Italy were hit the hardest, it seems that the wave has shifted to India, one of the world’s giant economies. So fast are the cases spreading that even control of it has been so problematic and left thousands exposed?
On Friday, people across India were fighting for life-saving oxygen supply, and patients lay dying outside hospitals as the capital New Delhi recorded the equivalent of a COVID-19 death every five minutes, according to Reuters.
According to records obtained by Reuters, India posted a record size of 346,786 cases of coronavirus in the last 24 hours, while daily deaths from COVID-19 also jumped by a record, government data released on Saturday shows.
Deaths rose by 2,624 and reached a total of 189,544 according to data from the Ministry of Health. This is the world record for the second straight day, which totaled more than 16 million cases since the pandemic began.
With more than 4 million cases registered, Maharashtra is the worst affected state in the country with almost 1.4 billion people. Pictures of mass cremations are circulating online as India struggles with the death and a health care system collapsing.
The wave has caused pain, fear and anxiety for millions of families across the country. As they desperately try to navigate the crisis, thousands of Indians turn to social media for help.
The news comes a few hours before India is added to England’s travel list on Friday, meaning arrivals will have to be quarantined at hotels from then on in 10 days of isolation. This is a precautionary measure as the world is rushing to get vaccines.
Researchers are particularly concerned about the Indian variant, as it contains two significant mutations of the spike protein, which may mean that vaccines are less effective against it.
One of those mutations, called L452R, has also been found in a variant circulating in California, although there is no link between the viruses, as the Indian variant has evolved independently.
The pandemic first structured China, where thousands of people died from millions of infections, but the communist state has apparently mitigated the crisis. India is one of the most populous countries in the world and the rise in COVID-19 infections means that thousands of people are at risk of death.
AXADLETM
