India has recorded the world's sharpest spike in coronavirus infections this month, with political and financial capitals New Delhi and Mumbai running out of hospital beds, oxygen and medicines. A Covid-19 patient in the Indian state of Gujarat with his attendants arrives at the 1200-bed Covid-19 hospital inside the Civil Hospital campus in Ahmedabad on 28 April 2021. Photo: The Times Of India / Yogesh Chawda via AFP Scientists are studying what led to the unexpected surge, and particularly whether a variant of the novel coronavirus first detected in India is to blame. The variant, named B.1.617, has been reported in 17 countries, raising global concern.