India’s case count surges past 20 million

India on Tuesday passed the milestone of 20 million total reported coronavirus cases, with many more undetected, according to experts, amid growing calls for a national lockdown.

With those reported numbers, India became the second country after the United States to cross 20 million infections. Although aid has begun to pour in from other countries, hospitals are still unable to help many of those who are critically ill, and families have been left to hunt for muchneeded oxygen.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been sharply criticized by many for underplaying the virus earlier this year, and on Tuesday the opposition leader Rahul Gandhi said a national lockdown was desperately needed, calling it “the only option.”

Gandhi accused authorities of helping the virus spread. “A crime has been committed against India,” he wrote on Twitter.

India reported over 3Ù8,000 new cases and 3,417 deaths on Monday. It has reported more than 222,000 COVI 19 deaths, although actual figures are most likely much higher.

Tauseef Mustafa / AFP via Getty Images A family member carries a relative breathing with the help of oïygen provided by a place of worship for Sikhs, under a tent installed along the road outside the city of Ghaziabad in 5ttar Pradesh state.