Indian hospitals and doctors put out notices that they can't cope

NEW DELHI: India set a new global record of the most number of Covid-19 infections in a day, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday (April 25) urged all citizens to be vaccinated and exercise caution, saying the "storm" of infections had shaken the country.

The US said it was deeply concerned by the massive surge in coronavirus cases in India and was racing to send aid there.

India's number of cases surged by 349,691 in the past 24 hours, the fourth straight day of record peaks, and hospitals across the country are turning away patients after running out of medical oxygen and beds.

"We were confident, our spirits were up after successfully tackling the first wave, but this storm has shaken the nation," Mr Modi said in a radio address.

His government has faced criticism that it let its guard down, allowed big religious and political gatherings to take place when India's cases plummeted to below 10,000 a day and did not plan on building up the healthcare systems.

Hospitals and doctors have put out urgent notices that they were unable to cope with the rush of patients.

People were arranging stretchers and oxygen cylinders outside hospitals as they desperately pleaded for the authorities to take patients in, Reuters photographers said.

"Every day, it is the same situation, we are left with two hours of oxygen, we get only assurances from the authorities," one doctor said on television.

Outside a Sikh temple in Ghaziabad city on the outskirts of Delhi, the street resembled an emergency ward of a hospital but crammed with cars carrying Covid-19 patients gasping for breath as they were hooked up to hand-held oxygen tanks.

The temple has been buying small quantities of oxygen as and when it becomes available to help those in urgent need.

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Delhi's Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal extended a lockdown in the capital - which was due to end today - for a week to try and stem the virus that is killing one person every four minutes.

India's total tally of infections stands at 16.96 million and deaths 192,311 after 2,767 more died overnight, Health Ministry data showed.

The country of 1.3 billion people is on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe, Brown University School of Public Health dean Ashish Jha warned in an op-ed published on Saturday in The Washington Post.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Twitter: "We are working closely with our partners in the Indian government, and we will rapidly deploy additional support to the people of India and India's healthcare heroes."

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Criticism

The US has faced criticism in India for its export controls on raw materials for vaccines.

The Serum Institute of India, the world's biggest vaccine-maker, this month urged US President Joe Biden to lift the controls that are hurting its production of AstraZeneca shots.

The surge is expected to peak in mid-May with daily cases reaching half a million, the Indian Express said citing a government assessment.

Covid-19 task force leader VK Paul made the presentation during a meeting with Mr Modi and state chief ministers and said the health infrastructure in heavily populated states is not adequate enough to cope, the paper reported.