Huge crowds at festival as India overtakes Brazil in virus surge

Sputnik V approved as nation races to contain escalating health crisis

Hundreds of thousands of maskless devotees packed a religious festival yesterday as India overtook Brazil to become the country with the second-highest number of coronavirus infections, bearing the brunt of a new Covid wave.

India reported a new daily record of nearly 170,000 cases yesterday to take the total to 13.68 million, above Brazil’s 13.48 million.

The milestone was reached as India granted emergency use of Russia’s highly effective Sputnik V vaccine, making it the third such shot approved by the nation as it races to contain an escalating health crisis .

India’s drive to vaccinate 300 million people by the end of July needs a boost, amid reports of low vaccine stocks in some states. In Haridwar, crowds of pilgrims thronged the sacred Ganges River for a ritual bath as part of the Kumbh Mela festival. As India’s second wave of infections builds, with fewer than 4 per cent estimated to have been vaccinated among a population of 1.4 billion, experts say the situation could have a long way to go before it starts getting better.

Tally to double in 2 months

India’s tally is on course to double in two months, according to estimates based on data from the Johns Hopkins University Centre for Systems Science and Engineering.

Yet authorities appeared unwilling or unable to stop events that could lead to a calamitous spread of the disease.

“With 1.2 million active cases, and the daily number reaching 200,000, its bizarre to have poll rallies and a full Kumbh Mela,” political commentator Shekhar Gupta said on Twitter.

India yesterday overtook Brazil as the country with the second-highest number of coronavirus infections, as it reported a new daily record of more than 168,000 cases.

The vast nation of 1.3 billion people has been reporting a rapid increase in new infections in recent weeks, with the surge taking the total toll to 13.5 million cases, above Brazil’s 13.48 million.

Experts have warned that huge, mostly maskless and tightly packed crowds at political rallies in poll-bound states, mass religious festivals and at other public places were fuelling the new wave of infections.

“The whole country has been complacent — we allowed social, religious and political congregations,” Rajib Dasgupta, a health professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, told AFP.

“No-one queued up (for social distancing) anymore.”

The country has recorded more than 873,000 cases in the last seven days — an increase of 70 per cent compared to the previous week, according to data compiled by AFP.

In comparison, Brazil recorded just over 497,000 cases with an increasing trend of 10 per cent from the previous week.

The United States — the worst-hit country — reported just under 490,000 cases with a rising trend of nine per cent.

The spike in India, after daily rises in cases fell below 9,000 in early February, has seen many badly affected states and territories impose restrictions on movement and activities.

India’s wealthiest state Maharashtra, which has been the main driver of the infection spike, last week imposed a weekend lockdown and night curfew.

But Maharashtra has warned that a complete lockdown — a drastic measure that national and state governments have tried to avoid to protect the already devastated economy — could be imposed within the next few days as cases continue to rise.

The whole country has been complacent — we allowed social, religious and political congregations... noone queued up (for social distancing) anymore.”

Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister New Delhi, where a night curfew is in place, said 65 per cent of new Covid-19 patients were less than 45 years old.

His government was not in favour of a lockdown, but said it would consider imposing one if hospital beds start running out.

Terrible ten

Ten states — Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan account for 83.02 per cent of the new infections, said the health ministry

As many as 1,68,912 fresh coronavirus infections were registered in a span of 24 hours, the highest single-day rise since the outbreak of the pandemic.

Daily deaths also continue to show an upward trend with 904 deaths being reported in a day.

Rajib Dasgupta | Health professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University