India is battling a devastating second wave of COVID-19 as the healthcare system takes a crippling toll.
At the beginning of April, India succumbed to a second wave of COVID-19, following months of relaxed restrictions and ill-preparation. This wave has launched a public health emergency that has resulted in overcrowded, ill-equipped hospitals and a staggering death toll.
Experts believe the second wave is the result of mass political and religious gathering and a mutant strain of the virus only made worse by a lack of resources such as oxygen tanks, ventilators and hospital beds.
Deepak Baid from the Association of Medical Consultants in Mumbai told ABC News that “Across the world we have found that a second wave is always more dangerous and more powerful and more virulent than the first wave…have we been prepared?…the answer is definitely no.”
As of April 27, Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison has suspended all flights from India until May 15. Australia has sent a relief package to India consisting of 500 ventilators and more than a million surgical masks. However, as the country still grapples with its second wave, global leaders are considering other options to further humanitarian aid.
Heart-wrenching—A mother in her 50s dies of #COVID19 after she had low oxygen. But there’s no ambulance, so her dead body is carried by motorbike—by her son & son-in-law, her corpse wedged in-between her sons, ferrying her home. Heart-breaking for India 🇮🇳.pic.twitter.com/9HkC5rWnbi
— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) April 27, 2021
People unable to seek treatment in hospitals are forced to find solutions to treat sick patients at home. Many have had no choice but to turn to the overinflated black market for essential medicines and oxygen cylinders.
Police have blocked off main roads in cities such as Amritsar, Srinagar and Chennai to conduct vehicle checks, with only essential service providers allowed to travel. There have even been reports of police violence, with footage of officers hitting people with batons for breaking lockdown rules in Mandsaur.
Furthermore, India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has come under fire after his administration ordered social media sites, including Facebook and twitter, to remove thousands of posts about its failing response to the second wave.
JPMORGAN: At 350,000 new cases per day, “the 7-day average.. in #India is now nearly 1.5 times that of the rest of EM. Less than 9% of the Indian population has received at least one vaccine dose, so non-pharmaceutical interventions are needed to bring the outbreak under control” pic.twitter.com/GIlAtuWowX
— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla) April 28, 2021
With India’s current COVID-19 death toll hitting its peak this week at 2,771 on April 26, burial sites are overflowing. Horrifying images show countless funeral pyres spread across makeshift crematoriums as people mourn their loved ones.
We encourage you to donate to India’s COVID-19 relief through the site below:
https://covid.giveindia.org/
