AP PHOTOS: India is packed by its massive virus wave
By The Associated Press
India has been overwhelmed by hundreds of thousands of new cases of coronavirus daily, causing pain, fear and agony in many lives as closures have been placed in Delhi and other cities.
The Indian Ministry of Health on Wednesday reported 295,041 new cases with 2,023 deaths, bringing the total mortality to 182,553. Since the start of the pandemic, India has recorded 15.6 million cases, the second highest behind the United States.
Recently reported cases have exceeded 200,000 every day for a week, with people infected more quickly than can be tested.
“This time, the infection is spreading so fast that people do not have time to get medication. Many people die before we can get a test report, ”said Dr. SK Pandey of the Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences in Lucknow, the northern state capital of Uttar Pradesh.
Many have blamed politicians for allowing superfluous events, such as mass rallies, to take place.
Last month, religious leaders and hundreds of thousands of devout Hindus descended on the banks of the Ganges River in the northern Indian city of Haridwar to celebrate a major Kumbh festival. They believe that a bath with holy water will wash away their sins and prevent rebirth. A prominent Hindu religious leader died of COVID-19 shortly afterwards.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Interior Minister Amit Shah, as well as opposition politicians participated in mass election rallies in five densely populated states, with tens of thousands of supporters not wearing masks or distancing themselves. .
Tens of thousands of farmers protesting the new agricultural reform laws have been camping on the outskirts of India’s capital in makeshift tents and townships since November.
Modi tried to boost spirits in a nationwide speech Tuesday night, saying the government and the pharmaceutical industry were stepping up efforts to address the shortage of hospital beds, oxygen, testing and vaccines.
But, he admitted, “the rise in infections has come like a storm and a great battle awaits us.”