Family members of a Covid-19 patient outside a government-run hospital, facing shortage in beds and medical oxygen, in Kolkata. (PTI)
NEW DELHI: India on Thursday shattered the global record of most Covid infections recorded in a day after registering a massive spike of nearly 3.15 lakh fresh cases along with 2,102 deaths in the past 24 hours.
The deluge of infections have led to a severe health crisis in the country with PM Modi saying recently that the second wave has hit India like a storm .
What has been particularly worrying during the ongoing Covid surge is the rapid pace at which India is adding new infections.
‘Second wave peak nowhere in sight’
April 22, 2021
Covid patients in ambulances waiting for admission at Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad on Thursday - VIJAY SONEJI
Covid patients in ambulances waiting for admission at Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad on Thursday - VIJAY SONEJI×
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As India reported the world’s highest-ever daily Covid-19 spike of around 3.14 lakh cases experts cautioned that the peak of the second wave is yet to come.
With hospitals under tremendous stress and severe shortage of beds, medicines, and ventilators, many feel that this situation could have been avoided with some foresight.
New Delhi: The world’s fastest pace of spreading infections and the highest daily increase in coronavirus cases are pushing India further into a deepening and deadly health care crisis.
While India is massive - it’s the world’s second-most populous country with nearly 1.4 billion people - its size also presents extraordinary challenges to fighting COVID-19.
Some 2.7 million vaccine doses are given daily, but that’s still less than 10% of its people who’ve gotten their first shot. Overall, India has confirmed 15.9 million cases of infection, the second highest after the United States, and 184,657 deaths.
The latest surge has driven India’s fragile health systems to the breaking point: Understaffed hospitals are overflowing with patients. Medical oxygen is in short supply. Intensive care units are full. Nearly all ventilators are in use, and the dead are piling up at crematoriums and graveyards.
Apr 22 2021, 8:47 ET
Updated: Apr 22 2021, 10:05 ET
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A NEW coronavirus variant has erupted in India and could be driving its surge in cases, experts have warned.
Scientists say the new variant - dubbed the Bengal variant - could be more infectious than those already circulating across the country.
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Cases of Covid-19 have soared in India in recent days and the country is racing to get its residents vaccinatedCredit: AFP
Experts in India have already discovered a strain dubbed a double mutant or B.1.617, which carries two mutations to the spike protein, E484Q and L452R.
The so-called Bengal variant, known as B.1.618, is thought to carry three mutations and experts fear it could be driving infection rates in India.
Why India is shattering global infection records
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Last Updated: Apr 22, 2021, 01:49 PM IST
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Synopsis
India is massive - it s the world s second-most populous country with nearly 1.4 billion people - its size also presents extraordinary challenges to fighting COVID-19.
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The world s fastest pace of spreading infections and the highest daily increase in coronavirus cases are pushing India further into a deepening and deadly health care crisis. While India is massive - it s the world s second-most populous country with nearly 1.4 billion people - its size also presents extraordinary challenges to fighting COVID-19. Some 2.7 million vaccine doses are given daily, but that s still less than 10% of its people who ve gotten their first shot. Overall, India has confirmed 15.9 million cases of infection, the second highest after the United States, and 184,657 deaths.