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BIG STORY APRIL 16, 2021 | The Indian Eye 4

covid-19: second wave

Severe StreSS

the second wave of covid-19 causes devastation across india as the government struggles

to provide enough medicines and oxygen to the affected people. How did the situation

become so terrible? what is the way out?

Our Bureau
New Delhi

n Saturday, Delhi re-
ported around 24,000
Onew COVID-19 cases
in the last 24 hours. There was
also a shortage of oxygen and
Remdesivir in the state. This
was the highest single-day cas-
es in the national capital. Delhi
had reported 19,486 new coro-
navirus cases and 141 deaths
on Friday. Delhi has a limited
number of ICU beds and oxy-
gen and ICU beds are decreas-
ing very sharply.
This is the story of most – if not
all – Indian states. COVID-19
cases are rising sharply across
the country and the govern-
ment is failing to provide
enough services to the people.

as india’s daily tally of

covid-19 infections surge

by a record 200,000-plus Relatives of the COVID-19 patient mourn the death of the victim, outside the electric crematorium in Bengaluru on
cases for three consecutive Saturday. (ANI Photo)

days, public health experts deadlier new wave of infections COVID-19 cases, AIIMS Delhi propriate behaviour and at this
worry that a new — possi- that has made it the world’s sec- Director Dr Randeep Guleria time the virus mutated and it
ond worst-hit country, surpass- has said that there is a need to spread more rapidly,” he said.
bly more virulent — coro- ing Brazil, and has already be- go back to all the strategies that The vaccination drive was
navirus variant could be gun to overwhelm its hospitals were being followed six-seven launched on January 16 in the
country.
and crematoriums. The Asian months back to bring about a re-
racing through the crowd- nation has reported more than duction in the number of cases. Dr Guleria said if 15 per

ed nation of more than 1.3 14.5 million Covid cases so far Dr Guleria said causes for cent of COVID-19 cases re-
quire hospital care and one per-
and more than 175,600 fatali- the fast spread of the virus are
billion people. ties. “multi-factorial”. “But two main son is admitted on average for
Also in Delhi, noting that causes are that when in January five to seven days, hospital beds
The new variant, which has the country was seeing a “huge and February vaccination start- get occupied and with more pa-
a so-called double mutation, strain” on the health care sys- ed and cases went down, people tients coming, the hospitals may
is thought to be fueling India’s tem due to a sharp rise in stopped following COVID ap- Continued on next page... >>

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