Explosive COVID- 19 spike isolates India from world

As India faces a surge in COVID- 19 fueled by a “double mutant” coronavirus variant, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday warned the country of “being hit by a storm” as new infections exceeded 290,000 on Tuesday, with the country’s social healthcare system on the brink of collapse.

At least six countries and regions including the US, UK, New Zealand, and China’s Hong Kong Special Administrative Region have slapped travel bans on people coming from India, or strongly advised against visiting the country. Chinese experts reassured that as long as testing and quarantine measures are strictly ensured for international arrivals, Chinese don’t need to worry about the spike in the neighboring country.

Since a new wave of COVID- 19 ravaged the country roughly around April 15, India has faced an unrelenting surge of COVID- 19 cases, with a recordhigh of 295,041 registered on Tuesday, shows data.

India has recorded 15.6 million cases, second only to the US, which has over 31 million cases.

The government’s failure to cope with the return of the epidemic has been met with mounting criticism.

A number of countries and regions have announced a suspension on international travels from India. New Zealand took the lead, followed by the UK and Pakistan.

Chinese netizens expressed concerns that the flare- up in the neighboring country may bring the virus to China via a third country. A virologist Yang Zhanqiu suggested that deploying multiple means of testing, including anal swabs, could provide “double guarantee.”