Covid Crisis In India "Very Serious", Cases Yet To Peak: US Official Gayle E Smith, the State Department Coordinator for Global COVID Response and Health Security, explained that in a surge, there's a lag time between when people are infected, when they become sick and when they may need care. Updated: May 01, 2021 6:50 am IST "The crisis in India with the surge in the virus is indeed very, very serious," Gayle E Smith said Washington: The COVID-19 crisis in India is indeed very serious, the Biden Administration said on Friday, noting that the cases have not peaked yet. "I'm afraid that the crisis in India with the surge in the virus is indeed very, very serious. India's reporting an increasing number of cases almost every day. The crisis has not peaked yet," Gayle E Smith, the State Department Coordinator for Global COVID Response and Health Security told reporters at a news conference in Washington.