India surpasses 200,000 deaths after new record for COVID-19 numbers

India broke the barrier of 200,000 coronavirus deaths on Wednesday after registering a record number that exceeds 3,000 deaths in the past 24 hours after a slight drop yesterday, when the number of infections exceeded 360,000 per day for the first time.

The latest data keeps India at the global epicenter of the pandemic by reporting 3,293 deaths in a single day, while the number of infections rose to 360,960 new positives, according to India’s health ministry.

With these new figures, which bring the total number of deaths to 201,187 and 19.7 million infections since the start of the pandemic, the Asian country remains the fourth with the most deaths behind the United States, Mexico and Brazil.

India had its worst day after yesterday as figures gave the country a little breathing space, after seeing a drop of more than 30,000 cases and 41 deaths that did not occur in several days.

Records have also been broken in areas such as New Delhi, which reported a total of 24,149 new infections and 381 deaths in a single day., the highest death rate ever in this city of about 20 million people.

In addition, the western state of Maharashtra, most affected by the pandemic, has also broken records with 66,358 new positives and 895 deaths in the past 24 hours.

The severity of this second wave of covid in the Asian country, which impacted with greater virulence than the first curve which recorded its peak in September, has caused a supply crisis in several hospitals in the most affected regions.

As the country tries to get oxygen, the images of overflowing crematoria and the over-saturation of patients in intensive care units have awakened the commitment of several countries, which have started sending aid.

In front of this situation, India is focusing all its hopes on its ambitious vaccination campaign in which, to date, nearly 148 million doses have been administered since its start last January, including 2.5 million in the past 24 hours..

Several countries have offered to help India cope with the second wave of COVID-19 with equipment for manufacturing supplies and vaccines, or medical equipment, such as the United States or Australia.

In this context, The NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on the Indian government to “urgently” address the health care shortage caused by the “world’s fastest growing” coronavirus crisis.. He also called for vulnerable communities to be guaranteed “equitable access to treatment”.

“Donors and diaspora groups stepping up aid to India should encourage the government to end restrictions on free speech and respect human rights in its response to the pandemic,” added the organization.

According to the NGO, after criticizing the government for its management of the pandemic, with the lack of supplies and hospital care, He ordered the removal of around 100 social media posts, hinting that it was fake news..

“The Indian government should focus only on its efforts to respond to people who desperately need help and die for lack of medical care,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, Human Rights Watch director for South Asia.

With information from EFE

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