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India accounts for 25% of all global pandemic deaths in past week

India accounted for 46% of global cases and 25% of global deaths reported in the past week, as the country’s coronavirus deaths rose by a record 3,780 during the last 24 hours, said the World Health Organisation.

Reuters reports that daily infections in the country rose by 382,315 on Wednesday (5 May), the 14th straight day of more than 300,000 cases.

India's second deadly surge of COVID-19 has seen hospitals runs out of beds and oxygen and left morgues and crematoriums overflowing. Many people have died in ambulances and car parks waiting for a bed or oxygen.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has been widely criticised for not acting sooner to suppress the second wave of the virus. Religious festivals and political rallies have attracted tens of thousands of people in super spreader events.

India's government says there are enough oxygen supplies but distribution has been hindered by transport India's surge in infections has coincided with a dramatic drop in vaccinations due to supply and delivery problems. At least three states, including Maharashtra, home to the commercial capital of Mumbai, have reported a scarcity of vaccines, shutting down some inoculation centres.

Medical experts say the actual numbers of dead and infected in India could be five to 10 times the official tallies. The country added 10 million cases in just over four months, after taking more than 10 months to reach the first 10 million.

Daily testing in India has fallen sharply to 1.5 million, state-run Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). It hit a peak of 1.95 million on Saturday (1 May). Public health experts believe India will not reach herd immunity any time soon but say hospitalisations and deaths will reduce significantly in six to nine months, according to a report in The Economic Times.

 

Full Reuters report (Open access)

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