Sat 01 May 2021:
India on Saturday recorded 401,993 daily cases, Health Ministry figures show — a new global record.
The ministry said the overall coronavirus mark has now surpassed 19 million, while the death toll stands at 211,853, including 3523 new fatalities.
India has added more than 300,000 daily cases for nine consecutive days beginning April 22, pushing the health system to its limits and causing an acute shortage of hospital beds, oxygen and treatment drugs like Remdesevir.
As per the figures, the national capital, New Delhi, which has been seeing an acute shortage of oxygen in hospitals, reported more than 27,000 new infections late Friday. –
Along with the rising number of cases, the number of daily fatalities has also witnessed a massive increase, strained crematoriums and burial centers.
Amid the battle against the virus, foreign medical aid has arrived. In the last few days, a number of countries, including the US, have sent medical help.
While government officials say they would receive oxygen generating plants and oxygen concentrators in coming days, the navy has deployed warships to bring medical oxygen from abroad.
Starting Saturday, a Phase 3 vaccination drive will begin that will allow residents older than 18 to be vaccinated.
The crisis has galvanized organizations and government bodies into action: The World Health Organization (WHO) alone is sending 1.2 million reagents used for diagnostic testing, mobile field hospitals with up to 50 beds, 4,000 oxygen concentrators, and technical staff support, according to a news release Wednesday.
Also on Wednesday, the White House said in a statement that it will deliver $100 million worth of supplies, including oxygen cylinders and concentrators, large-scale oxygen generation units (with trained personnel) that can support up to 20 patients each, 15 million N95 respirators, rapid diagnostic tests, and up to 20,000 treatment courses of the antiviral drug remdesivir.
The US government also confirmed it will send manufacturing supplies for the AstraZeneca/Oxford COVID-19 vaccine.
Because of the outbreak, the US State Department issued a level 4 travel advisory and told Americans not to travel to India or to leave as soon as safely possible, according to Bloomberg.
Modi’s failure
Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is facing huge criticism for failing to manage the second wave is announcing more steps to deal with the situation.
Several commentators have blamed the ‘system’ for the massacre caused by the coronavirus pandemic, without underlining the failure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, without naming the man behind the mayhem.
They refuse to acknowledge that governance and administration do not operate in vacuum, these are led by specific personalities. The Modi government took little steps to build India’s health infrastructure, declared a false victory over the virus, celebrated Kumbh and went ahead with election rallies when the disease was spreading fast.
An editorial in the UK-based media outlet last Friday blamed Modi’s “overconfidence” for the impact of the second wave. It faulted Modi for referring to India as the “world’s pharmacy” when less than 1 per cent of the population was vaccinated, and allowing return to pre-pandemic life.
Likening Modi to Trump, it pointed out how an unmasked Modi didn’t give up campaigning even when the virus began killing thousands in India.
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