‘Big battle lies ahead’

India being overrun by its massive virus surge

“This time, infection is spreading so fast that people are not getting time to get medicines. Many people are dying before we can get a test report.”

— Dr. S K Pandey of Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences in Lucknow, India

India has been overwhelmed by hundreds of thousands of new coronavirus cases daily, bringing pain, fear and agony to many lives as lockdowns have been placed in Delhi and other cities.

India’s Health Ministry reported 295,041 new cases on Wednesday with 2,023 deaths, taking total fatalities to 182,553. India has since the start of the pandemic recorded 15.6 million cases, the second highest behind the United States.

Newly reported cases have exceeded 200,000 each day for a week — with people being infected faster than they can be tested.

“This time, infection is spreading so fast that people are not getting time to get medicines. Many people are dying before we can get a test report,” said Dr. S K Pandey of Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences in Lucknow, capital of the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.

Many have blamed politicians for allowing super-spreader events such as mass gatherings to take place.

Religious leaders and hundreds of thousands of devout Hindus descended on the banks of the Ganges River in the northern Indian city of Haridwar last month for a major Kumbh festival. They believe that a dip in holy water will wash away their sins and prevent rebirth. One prominent Hindu religious leader died of covid-19 shortly after.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah as well as opposition politicians took part in mass election rallies in five populous states with tens of thousands of supporters not wearing masks or social distancing.

Tens of thousands of farmers protesting new agricultural reform laws have been camping on the outskirts of the Indian capital in crowded tents and makeshift townships since November.

Modi tried to boost spirits in a nationwide address on Tuesday night by saying the government and the pharmaceutical industry were stepping up efforts to meet the shortages of hospital beds, oxygen, tests and vaccines.

But, he admitted, the “surge in infections has come like a storm and a big battle lies ahead.”

A man waits for the cremation of a relative who died of covid-19, placed near bodies of other victims in New Delhi, India.

(AP/Rafiq Maqbool) An elderly woman waits to receive the vaccine for covid-19 at a vaccination center in Mumbai.

(AP/Rafiq Maqbool) A municipal worker in personal protective suit does last rites during the cremation of a covid-19 victim in Vasai, on the outskirts of Mumbai, India.

(AP/Rafiq Maqbool) A notice informing about the shortage of covid-19 vaccine is displayed on the gate of a vaccination centre in Mumbai.

(AP/Ajit Solanki) A covid-19 patient waits in an autorickshaw to be attended to and admitted into a dedicated covid-19 government hospital in Ahmedabad, India.

(AP/Manish Swarup) Health workers rest in between cremating covid-19 victims in New Delhi.