India broke the barrier of 4,000 daily coronavirus deaths for the first time

India topped 4,000 coronavirus deaths in a single day this Saturday, which means a new record for the country, after several days of recording its highest number of deaths and daily infections, which marks a borderline situation.

Specifically, India’s health ministry recorded 4,187 deaths from the disease in the last day, rising to 238,270 since the start of the pandemic.

Regarding daily infections, 401,078 were confirmed in the last 24 hours, so the total accumulated cases is 21,892,676.

Faced with the disastrous situation, the Prime Minister of Tamil Nadu, MK Stalin, announced the total quarantine of the Indian state for the next two weeks for “unavoidable reasons” which will only open essential services.

In this state, 26,465 new cases were recorded on the last day and 197 deaths and it becomes the third state in India to apply this measure after Kerala and Karnataka, according to NDTV.

More, The international community remains concerned about the Asian country and this Friday the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) stressed that “this wave which is almost four times the size of the first wave” leaves many young people destitute.

“The virus is spreading much faster. On average, there have been more than four new cases per second and more than two deaths per minute in the past 24 hours. “said UNICEF India Representative Yasmin Ali Haque.

Haque also warned that “the pandemic is far from over” and that “COVID-19 cases are increasing at an alarming rate in South Asia, particularly in Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.”

The situation affects children as the authorities register an increasing number of orphans without protection. “Although there is still not enough data, we see that requests for illegal adoption have appeared on social networks, which makes these orphans vulnerable to trafficking and abuse,” he warned. .

Among the worst-hit areas of India is western Maharashtra, whose capital is Bombay, which, although passing over 1,000 deaths at the end of April, recorded 898 in the past 24 hours, followed by southern Karnataka, with 592 dead, and from northern Uttar. Pradesh, with 371.

New Delhi, with 341 deaths on the last day, is also undergoing a bloody second wave that saw the healthcare system collapse, with infected coronaviruses unable to be admitted to hospitals due to lack of beds or facilities. patients dying of suffocation due to a lack of medical oxygen in the centers.

In the crematoria of the capital, the rate of cremation in the funeral pyres typical of the Hindu tradition is constant, with the repeated arrival of ambulances with corpses, while families wait their turn with a cart full of firewood. to shoot in a space that can be free from your loved one.

VACCINES AS THE ONLY OUTPUT

The vaccination program opened a week ago to the entire population over 18 is seen as the main hope to get out of this crisis, as health authorities have warned that a third wave of the virus is inevitable .

The country administered 2.2 million vaccines in the past 24 hours, a lower number than expected due to lack of doses in several states, representing 167 million injections since the start of the “world’s largest immunization program” in January.

However, only 34 million of India’s 1.35 billion people have been fully immunized with one of the formulations approved in the country, Covishield from AstraZeneca, which is manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII), or Covaxin, from the Indian laboratory Bharat Biotech; to which is added the imported Russian Sputnik V.

The rise in cases in India has been attributed in part to a relaxation of measures against the coronavirus by the population and the organization of mass events, such as huge election rallies or the religious holiday Kumbh Mela.

The Indian government, however, acknowledged this week that the dramatic increase in cases over the past month and a half in many states across the country may show a “correlation” with the increased presence of the Indian “double mutant” B.1.617 variant.

(With information from Europa Press and EFE)

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