2021/05/07 20:35 Taking a nasal swab for a coronavirus test in Hyderabad Taking a nasal swab for a coronavirus test in Hyderabad (AP photo) NEW DELHI (AP) Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi faced growing pressure Friday to impose a strict nationwide lockdown, despite the economic pain it will exact, as a startling surge in coronavirus cases that has pummeled the country’s health system shows no signs of abating. Many medical experts, opposition leaders and even Supreme Court judges are calling for national restrictions, arguing that a patchwork of state rules is insufficient to quell the rise in infections. Indian television stations broadcast images of patients lying on stretchers outside hospitals waiting to be admitted, with hospital beds and critical oxygen in short supply. People infected with COVID-19 in villages are being treated in makeshift outdoor clinics, with IV drips hanging fr
On Friday, India recorded a new record of 414,188 confirmed cases in the past 24 hours.
The tally has risen to more than 21.4 million since the pandemic began with faint hopes of the curve going down quickly.
The Health Ministry also reported 3915 additional deaths, bringing the total to 234,083.
Experts believe both figures are an undercount.
The official daily death count has stayed over 3000 for the past 10 days.
Over the past month, nearly a dozen out of Indiaâs 28 federal states have announced less stringent restrictions than the nationwide lockdown imposed for two months in March last year.
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A woman with COVID-19 gets oxygen support at an oxygen langar in New Delhi. Many religious communities have stepped up to urgently distribute more oxygen to desparate citizens as India s COVID-19 toll mounts.(Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
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India s Covid-19 second wave will devastate the country and the rest of the world if not brought under control, politician warns - as research suggests country is close to hitting a million deaths
India s second wave is a threat to the whole world because it is a breeding ground for new virus variants, opposition leader has warned
Country has already produced one new variant that is thought to be more infectious, but each new case provides it with a chance to mutate again
Rahul Gandhi issued the warning as he called for a second national shutdown
Meanwhile US researchers warned country s death toll - which is officially 234,000 - could be 700,000 and top 1million before the end of the month
By: DW
Image: DW
New Delhi [India]: Hospitals scrambling for oxygen, people waiting for ambulances that never arrive, crematoriums running out of space.
After a relatively controlled first COVID-19 wave, India is now shattering global records of daily infections. On Wednesday, it counted 362,567 new cases and the death toll exceeded 200,000. It s like an inferno. It will burn anything that it’s touching, Dr. Shuchin Bajaj, founder & director of Ujala Cygnus Hospitals, said about the massive new wave.
Variants could speed up infections
Several factors came together to create this unprecedented explosion.
Despite being one of the world’s biggest vaccine producers, India does not have enough stock to inoculate its own eligible population.