'It is much worse this time': India's devastating second wave

[riversedge]

Source: Financial Times


New variant suspected of stoking surge that is overwhelming hospitals and crematoriums

April 21, 2021 12:31 am by Benjamin Parkin , Jyotsna Singh and Stephanie Findlay in New Delhi, and John Burn-Murdoch in London

Every night funeral pyres blaze on the banks of the Ganges, a grim symbol of the ferocious Covid-19 wave sparking a health crisis and human tragedy in India that is far surpassing anything seen last year.

Patients are dying while their families search in vain for hospital beds. Supplies of oxygen and medicines are running low, leading to robberies of drugs from hospitals. Crematoriums and burial grounds cannot cope with the sheer number of corpses.

The devastation has sparked outrage at the lack of preparation among officials who believed that the worst of the pandemic was over. Only two months ago, India was revelling in its success of reining in the spread of the virus. Now it is reporting about 294,000 infections and 2,000 deaths a day.


Narendra Modi, prime minister, and his Bharatiya Janata party have been accused of prioritising domestic politics over public health by holding mass political rallies with thousands of people and allowing the Kumbh Mela, a vast religious festival attended by millions, to take place during the second wave.....................................

Read more: https://amp.ft.com/content/683914a3-134f-40b6-989b-21e0ba1dc403?__twitter_impression=true

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Chart showing that cases and deaths are soaring in India, already far above the previous peak

[Auggie]

1. Soon to become the the USAs second wave

[jaxexpat]

2. It's turning out that religious gatherings are the most egregious super-spreader events.

It's NOT the "end of times", per se. It may, however, be the end of nature's tolerance for mankind's upstart audacity.

Big Brain.....right.

[riversedge]

3. Singing loudly, often and in close contact with others. What could go wrong??

[Cozmo]

4. Religious gatherings, need more be said?

[JudyM]

5. Thanks for posting this, it's nightmarish to see India's escalation.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/india/

Incorrectly assumed the worst was over when they projected large scale existing antibody protection https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01059-y

[IronLionZion]

6. India should be a warning for those who assume it's over too soon

they have variants spreading faster than before and as more people are infected new variants happen.

They are also showing a stark contrast to the East Asian countries who had very strict lockdowns and mask/distance guidelines early on. Most Asian countries are crowded but India had conservative people/politicians resisting public health guidance.

[bahboo]

7. another right wing fuckface killing his own people....

vote these fuckers out!