India suffers worst day for COVID-19 deaths, hospitals overwhelmed

India, the country currently being hit hardest by the pandemic, on Tuesday reported its worst daily death toll, with large parts of the country now under lockdown amid a fast-rising second wave of infections.  

The health ministry said 1,761 people had died in the past day, bringing India’s toll to 180,530, still well below the 567,538 deaths reported in the United States, though experts believe India’s actual deaths are far more than the official count.  

The world’s second most populous country is grappling with its biggest public health emergency after it lowered its guard when coronavirus infections fell to a multi-month low in February, health experts and officials say.  

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Protection has said all travel should be avoided to India, while Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson cancelled an official trip to New Delhi that had been scheduled for next week, and his government said it will add India to its travel “red list”. read more  

Several major cities are already reporting far larger numbers of cremations and burials under coronavirus protocols than official COVID-19 death tolls, according to crematorium and cemetery workers, the media and a review of government data. read more  

The crisis in hospitals has left people fighting for beds, oxygen and medicines, and doctors said the shortages will inevitably lead to more deaths.  

“The huge pressure on hospitals and the health system right now will mean that a good number who would have recovered had they been able to access hospital services may die,” said Gautam I. Menon, a professor at Ashoka University.  
NEW DELHI REUTERS, 
20 April, 2021