India fought a huge increase in COVID-19 effects on Friday as hospitals ran out of oxygen and beds while politicians held election rallies and hundreds of thousands of Hindu devotees attended a festive week, angering health officials.
A massive second wave of infections, the second place overall for the United States, has forced authorities to restrict the movement of people in Mumbai, New Delhi and other cities amid growing calls for faster vaccination .
The 217,353 new cases reported by the health ministry on Friday were the eighth daily increase in the past nine days, bringing the total number of cases to nearly 14.3 million.
The United States has reported more than 31 million infections.
Deaths in India have risen by 1,185 over the past 24 hours – the highest rise in a single day in seven months – to reach a total of 174,308.
Experts have expressed concern about the spread of more contagious variants of the disease, especially given the widespread participation in religious festivals and political gatherings. A study by Lancet estimated this month that daily deaths in India could double by June.
Hundreds of thousands of ascetics and religious Hindus were gathered along the banks of the Ganges in the northern state of Uttarakhand after a mass dive at a religious festival on Wednesday in hopes of washing away their sins. Hundreds tested positive.
In the capital Delhi, business achieved a record of 16,699 overnight.
“It seems that more young people have serious illnesses,” said Giridhara Babu, a professor of epidemiology at the Indian Institute of Public Health.
Health Minister Harsh Vardhan blamed a ‘random approach’ to the unprecedented increase in affairs, although his colleagues in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling party still addressed rallies attended by tens of thousands, with little evidence of masks or social distance.
Interior Minister Amit Shah, whose department oversees locks and other COVID rules, held a roadshow on an open vehicle through a busy street seeking votes in the state of West Bengal.
Thousands of farmers who have been protesting in the capital for months against new agricultural legislation have vowed to continue their 24-hour sit-ins. read more
“The speed with which the virus is spreading in our region (South Asia) is really frightening,” said Udaya Regmi, of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
VACCINE PROGRAM
The government has said it will supply an estimated 17,000 tonnes of oxygen to a dozen states where the virus is rising, including western Maharashtra and Delhi.
The provision of the antiviral drug Remdesivir is also being intensified following reports of a widespread deficiency. read more
India has so far injected 117 million doses of vaccines, the highest worldwide to the United States and China, but it covers only a small fraction of its 1.35 billion people.
Vaccinations peaked at 4.5 million doses on April 5, but according to government data, it has since averaged about 3 million a day amid complaints about state deficits. read more
India has switched from a mass vaccine exporter to an importer because it previously rejected foreign drug manufacturers such as Pfizer (PFE.N). It will import the Russian Sputnik V vaccine from this month to cover up to 125 million people. read more
India on Thursday also approved the Haffkine Institute in Maharashtra to start production of the COVAXIN shot Bharat Biotech, saying production capacity would be increased to nearly 100 million doses by September.
The country is currently administering the COVAXIN and AstraZeneca (AZN.L) vaccine, which is manufactured by the Serum Institute of India and the Covishield brand.
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