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News

India posts global record of 315,000 daily corona cases

April 22, 2021 11:49 AM


India posted a global record of almost 315,000 new Covid infections on Thursday as hospitals in New Delhi sent out desperate warnings that patients could die without fresh oxygen supplies.

India's long-underfunded health system is being stretched to the limit by a devastating second wave blamed on a "double mutant" variant and "super-spreader" mass gatherings.

Health ministry data on Thursday showed 314,835 new infections in the past 24 hours, the most of any country since the pandemic began, taking total cases to 15.9 million, the world's second highest.

There were 2,074 fatalities, bringing the total death toll to almost 185,000. 

The number of deaths and cases in India are however considerably lower on a per capita basis than many other countries.

Major private and government-run hospitals in New Delhi have sent out urgent appeals to the central government, calling for immediate supply of oxygen for hundreds of patients on ventilator support.

On Wednesday, nearly 500 tonnes of oxygen was supplied to Delhi but this fell short of the required 700 tonnes per day.

The megacity's government, run by a different party to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's national administration, has accused neighbouring states governed by Modi's BJP of holding up supplies.

Late Wednesday the Delhi High Court ordered the government to ensure safe passage of oxygen supplies from factories to hospitals across India.

"We cannot let people die due to lack of oxygen... you beg, borrow and steal but have to provide," the judges said, asking why the government is "not waking up to the gravity of the situation".

Highlighting the strain on health authorities, 22 patients died in a hospital in western India after an oxygen leak cut off the supply to 60 ventilators for half an hour on Wednesday.

Read More: India daily virus cases double to 200,000 in 10 days

Recent months have seen mass gatherings, including millions attending the Kumbh Mela religious festival, as well as political rallies, lavish weddings and cricket matches against England.

Production of key coronavirus drugs slowed or even halted at some factories and there were delays inviting bids for oxygen generation plants, according to press reports.

Distraught relatives are now being forced to pay exorbitant rates on the black market for medicines and oxygen and WhatsApp groups are white-hot with desperate pleas for help.

States across India have imposed restrictions, with Delhi in a week-long lockdown, all non-essential shops shut in Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh set for a weekend shutdown.

The United States now advises against travelling to India, even for those fully vaccinated, while Britain has added India to its "red list". Hong Kong and New Zealand have banned flights.

India's inoculation programme has also hit supply hurdles, prompting New Delhi to put the brakes on exports of the AstraZeneca shot, which is manufactured locally by the Serum Institute.

India has administered more than 130 million shots so far and from May 1 all adults will be eligible for a jab.

Shortages spur the black market for drugs, oxygen

As Poonam Sinha fought for her life, her distraught son found himself fending off black marketeers for coronavirus drugs after the Indian hospital treating her ran out of supplies.

Dire medicine and oxygen shortages as India battles a ferocious new Covid-19 wave mean boom times for profit gougers, although some young volunteers are doing their best to help people on Twitter and Instagram.

Read More: India imposes new curbs as Covid-19 cases hit record

In the eastern city of Patna, Pranay Punj ran from one pharmacy to another in a frantic search for the antiviral medication remdesivir for his seriously ill mum.

He finally located a pharmacist who said the drug could only be found on the black market, and offered to source it for an eye-popping 100,000 rupees ($1,340), over 30 times its usual price and three times the average monthly salary for an Indian white-collar worker.

Punj instead got the medicine from a distant relative whose wife had just died from the virus.

But the nightmare was only beginning.

In the middle of the night, he got a call informing him that the hospital had now exhausted its stock of oxygen, making his mother's condition even more precarious.

"Several hours later, we managed to procure one bed at (a) very high price in a private hospital and moved her there," he told AFP.

- Oxygen supplies -

Similar heart-rending scenes are unfolding across the country, with desperate people taking to social media to beg for beds, oxygen or medication.

Despite India's status as the "pharmacy of the world", the biggest producer of generic drugs has been unable to meet the demand for antiviral medication such as remdesivir and favipiravir.

In the northern city of Lucknow, Ahmed Abbas was charged 45,000 rupees for a 46-litre oxygen cylinder, nine times its normal price.

Read More: India's daily Covid caseload doubles in 10 days to 200,000

"They asked me to pay in advance and pick it (up) from them the next day," the 34-year-old told AFP.

The crisis has added to criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, already under fire for allowing huge religious gatherings and addressing crowded political rallies himself.

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal last weekend hit out at "doctors giving patients unnecessary oxygen".

"Patients should only be given as much oxygen as they need," Goyal told reporters.

New Delhi is now planning to import 50,000 tonnes of oxygen and has set up a special train service called the "Oxygen Express" to transport cylinders to hard-hit states. 

Modi said in an address to the nation on Tuesday night that "all efforts are being made" to boost supplies.

"One solution to this crisis was to create a stockpile of antiviral drugs when cases were low, but that did not happen," said Raman Gaikwad, an infectious diseases specialist at Sahyadri Hospital in the western city of Pune.

Instead, remdesivir manufacturers told the Indian Express this week that government officials had ordered them to cease production in January because of a fall in infections.

- Real-time desperation -

With requests for beds and supplies reaching fever pitch on social media platforms, a network of activists and influencers has sprung into action to help those in trouble.

Climate activist Disha Ravi and YouTuber Kusha Kapila are among the dozens of young Indians who have sourced, compiled and shared information detailing the real-time availability of hospital beds, local helplines, pharmacy numbers and even food delivery services.

Content creator Srishti Dixit, 28, told AFP she received a new request for help every 30 seconds, creating a huge backlog.

Unpaid, she works late into the night, editing and verifying details of where to get what and amplifying requests for help.

But the lists she shares with her 684,000 Instagram followers becomes obsolete almost immediately as beds fill up and pharmacies sell out.

"I am not always successful, I am sure there are lapses... but hopefully it is helping people at least on an individual level", she said.

With cases rising at a record pace, India's government is leaving its healthcare workers and anxious citizens to pick up the pieces.

"My friend is desperate... we have been trying for all the government helplines but none of them are responding (and) most of the oxygen suppliers have switched off their phones", said Zain Zaidi, sales manager at a Lucknow hotel.

"I just managed to find one supplier but he is charging 20,000 rupees. I have to buy it at any cost", the 34-year-old told AFP in a panicked voice, disconnecting the call.

Read Also: Iran notches new daily record of coronavirus cases
 



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