India on Tuesday surpassed 20 million SARS CoV 2 infections since the beginning of the pandemic, registering 357,229 new cases in the last 24 hours, amid a virulent second wave that has put the Asian country’s health system to the limit .
The country also recorded 3,449 deaths in 24 hours, bringing the total number of deaths to 222,408 according to the latest data from the Indian Ministry of Health, an official figure that according to many experts could actually be higher.
Despite the new record, the new figures represent a drop for the third consecutive day in the number of infections, although not deaths, after the Asian country surpassed the barrier of 400,000 positives for the first time last Saturday (01.05.2021) .
India continues to be the second country in the world most affected by the pandemic in absolute terms, behind the United States, which already has 32.4 million infections according to statistics from Johns Hopkins University.
The Asian country is mired in a dizzying second wave of the virus, which has not stopped growing since last February and has put its health system to the limit, with oxygen shortages and beds in large cities such as New Delhi. For this reason, more than 40 countries have begun to send aid to cooperate in the fight against the pandemic, including ventilators and medical equipment, in addition to oxygen generators, cylinders, concentrators and regulators.
The current lack of control of infections is attributed to the relaxation of measures, mass political and religious encounters and the appearance of the Indian variant of the virus called “double mutant” (B.1.617) that would be more contagious and aggressive than those known so far .
mn (EFE, AFP)
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The darkest days of the pandemic in India
No room for the deceased
India reported more than 3,200 coronavirus deaths on Wednesday (04.28.2021), the highest number in a single day since the pandemic began. The total death toll exceeds 200,000, with cities no longer having space to bury or incinerate the victims.
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The darkest days of the pandemic in India
Waiting for oxygen
An older woman, suffering from breathing difficulties due to COVID-19, waits in front of a temple to receive free oxygen on the outskirts of New Delhi.
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The darkest days of the pandemic in India
Informal health services
Hospitals in Delhi and across the country are not accepting patients after filling up and running out of oxygen. Many have announced that they are overwhelmed. This Sikh temple looks like a hospital ward. Many people in the Indian capital improvise health spaces outside the hospitals.
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The darkest days of the pandemic in India
Health care anywhere
A healthcare worker measures the oxygen level of a COVID patient inside an ambulance. As people are forced to wait hours for treatment, doctors have been treating people in cars and taxis parked in front of hospitals.
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The darkest days of the pandemic in India
Beg for oxygen
A couple waits until they can receive treatment for COVID-19. Social media and local media have captured images of desperate relatives begging for oxygen outside hospitals or crying over the deaths of deceased loved ones while awaiting treatment.
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The darkest days of the pandemic in India
Mourning india
A young man mourns in a crematorium for the loss of his father, who died of COVID-19. In the last month alone, infections have increased eightfold and deaths tenfold. According to experts, the actual death toll is probably much higher.
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The darkest days of the pandemic in India
The young, also beaten
This 35-year-old woman suffers from breathing difficulties due to COVID-19. Like many others, he waits his turn in front of the hospital for oxygen treatment. Scientists believe that a much more contagious “double mutation” of the coronavirus is spreading across the country.
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The darkest days of the pandemic in India
An extremely contagious variant
The family of a COVID-19 victim mourns her together in front of a New Delhi hospital morgue. The city’s top authority, Arvind Kejriwal, said the current variant is “particularly dangerous” and that people fall ill longer and more seriously.
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The darkest days of the pandemic in India
No room for the dead
The current crisis hits full force in overcrowded cemeteries and crematoriums. Burial surfaces are sold out in New Delhi. In other cities, funeral pyres light up the night sky.
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The darkest days of the pandemic in India
Slow vaccination
India’s vaccination program is being delayed. Only 10 percent of its population has received one dose, and 1.5 percent both doses. People over 18 years of age and older will be able to get vaccinated starting on Saturday.
