Indians rush for vaccines as coronavirus toll tops 200,000

World 04:07 PM - 2021-04-28

Photo Credit: REUTERS

Indians struggled to register online for a mass vaccination drive set to begin next month as the country’s toll from the coronavirus surged past 200,000 on Wednesday, worsened by shortages of hospital beds and medical oxygen.

 

The second wave of infections has seen at least 300,000 people test positive each day for the past week, overwhelming health facilities and crematoriums and fuelling an increasingly urgent response from allies overseas sending equipment.

 

The last 24 hours brought 360,960 new cases for the world's largest single-day total, taking India's tally of infections to nearly 18 million. It was also the deadliest day so far, with 3,293 fatalities carrying the toll to 201,187.

 

Experts believe the official tally vastly underestimates the actual toll in a nation of 1.35 billion, however.

 

"The situation is horrific, absolutely terrible, according to what I see. Everyone is afraid, every single person. People are afraid that if I am talking to a person, maybe I won't get to talk to them tomorrow or in the near future," New Delhi resident Manoj Garg said.

 

The World Health Organization said in its weekly epidemiological update that India accounted for 38% of the 5.7 million cases reported worldwide to it last week.

 

Early modelling showed that the B.1.617 variant of the virus detected in India had a higher growth rate than other variants in the country, suggesting increased transmissibility, it said.

 

The variants make for a perilous cocktail coursing through the world's second most populous country where people live in close proximity, often six to a room.

 

 

PUKmedia / Reuters