India fought a record increase in COVID-19 cases on Friday as hospitals ran out of oxygen and beds, while politicians held election rallies and hundreds of thousands of Hindu devotees attended a weeklong festival, infuriating health officials.
A massive second wave of infections, second only to the United States in total, forced authorities to restrict movement of people in Mumbai, New Delhi and other cities amid growing calls for faster roll-out of vaccinations.
The 217,353 new cases reported by the Department of Health on Friday marked the eighth daily record growth in the past nine days, bringing the total number of cases to nearly 14.3 million.
The United States has reported more than 31 million infections.
The number of deaths in India has risen by 1,185 in the past 24 hours – the highest one-day increase in seven months – to a total of 174,308.
Experts have raised concerns about the spread of more contagious variants of the disease, especially given the widespread participation in religious festivals and political gatherings. A Lancet study this month estimated that daily mortality in India could double in June.
Hundreds of thousands of ascetics and devout Hindus had gathered along the banks of the Ganges in the northern state of Uttarakhand after a massive dive during a religious festival on Wednesday, hoping to wash away their sins. Hundreds have tested positive.
In the capital, Delhi, overnight cases hit a record of 16,699.
“It seems that more younger people have serious illness,” said Giridhara Babu, professor of epidemiology at the Indian Institute of Public Health.
Health Minister Harsh Vardhan again blamed a “casual approach” for the unprecedented increase in the number of cases, although his colleagues in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling party continued to address electoral events attended by tens of thousands with little evidence of masks or social distance.
Home Secretary Amit Shah, whose department oversees lockdown and other COVID rules, held an open-vehicle roadshow through a busy street looking for voices in the state of West Bengal.
Thousands of farmers protesting new agricultural laws in the capital for months have vowed to continue their 24-hour sit-ins. read more
“The rate at which the virus is spreading in our region (South Asia) is really frightening,” said Udaya Regmi of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
VACCINE PROGRAM
The government said it would provide an estimated 17,000 tons of oxygen to a dozen states where the virus is on the rise, including western Maharashtra and Delhi.
The supply of antiviral drug Remdesivir is also increasing following reports of a widespread shortage. read more
India has injected 117 million doses of vaccine so far, the highest worldwide after the United States and China, but that only includes a small fraction of the 1.35 billion people.
Vaccinations peaked at 4.5 million doses on April 5, but have averaged about 3 million a day since then, according to government data, amid complaints about deficits from states. read more
India has transitioned from a massive vaccine exporter to an importer after previously rejecting foreign drug manufacturers such as Pfizer (PFE.N). It will import Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine starting this month to cover as many as 125 million people. read more
India also authorized the Haffkine Institute in Maharashtra on Thursday to begin production of homegrown COVAXIN shot from Bharat Biotech, saying production capacity would have increased to nearly 100 million doses by September.
The country is currently administering the COVAXIN and AstraZeneca (AZN.L) vaccine, which is manufactured by the Serum Institute of India under the brand name Covishield.
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