On Sunday, India reported over 350,000 new cases of COVID-19, with 2,812 deaths, reaching a new daily high. This was the third day in a row that India reported over 300,000 cases in a single day. With this, India’s tally has reached a whopping total of 17,300,000 cases with 195,000 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic. Despite several states imposing lockdown-like restrictions, India continues to struggle to take control of the rampant virus.
Amidst these rising numbers, several states in India are facing a dismal situation with their healthcare facilities crumbling. Not only have the hospitals run out of beds, but there is also a severe shortage of oxygen, Remdesivir, and other medical equipment necessary to treat patients with severe symptoms. In fact, several patients in New Delhi, India’s capital city, were reported to have died as a result of oxygen supply shortages. The country is also seeing overworked labs, resulting in excessive delays in the conclusion of RT-PCR tests, blood tests, and CT scans, which are used by medical professionals to assess the severity of the disease. Moreover, with several suppliers hoarding oxygen cylinders and medicines and selling them illegally for unreasonably high prices, India’s poor have been disproportionately affected.
The crisis has also led to an increase in political in-fighting, with several opposition-led states accusing the central government of adopting a discriminatory policy in the distribution of vaccines and oxygen. The most vocal has been the Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal, who has spoken about the Narendra Modi-led government’s “abject failure” in “setting up of oxygen plants in Delhi.” In response, the central government has denounced the Delhi government for delaying the setting up of these plants, which Kejriwal has called an “outright lie”.
As the blame game continues, the common man in India continues to suffer. The severity of the outbreak has been attributed to the double mutant variant of the COVID-19 virus that has been reported to be highly infectious. Consequently, several countries have imposed travel bans on travellers from India. This list includes the United Kingdom (UK), the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Canada, Kuwait, Oman, and Saudi Arabia. Cases of the Indian variant have also been reported in Greece and Switzerland.
Nevertheless, several countries have come out in support of India’s fight to contain this deadly wave and have offered help in this regard. The United States (US) has vowed to provide India with oxygen, Remdesivir, and raw materials to increase vaccine production within the coming 48 hours. The UAE and Saudi Arabia have dispatched oxygen concentrators and generators respectively. In addition, German Chancellor Angel Merkel announced that her government was planning to release emergency aid to India, with the exact details of the nature of the aid remaining unknown. However, a report by the German media house Der Spiegel said that the German armed forces had been instructed to assist with organising oxygen supplies for India, even as the country grapples with the third wave of the virus itself. The UK has also dispatched ventilators to India and is preparing to help meet its surging oxygen demands too. Additionally, Pakistan, India’s arch-rival and neighbour, has also offered support to India in this time of distress.