Covid-19 - Devastating Second Wave in India - Updates and Discussion

[Jackdaws]

I firmly believe if elections were held today, Modi would sweep once again. Society is screwed up and beyond repair.

I don't think so. But as you know, I've always thought he is useless

 

[Imran Khan]

Instead of mocking the Indians, we need to be taking notes before the situation gets out of hand. We are headed in the same direction, our hospitals are already filling up and I am seeing calls to search ventilators in Lahore. I am sorry but we Pakistanis are just as ridiculous as these Indians are. Images of Iftar parties and late night Sehris on food streets are doing rounds. Unless we get our act together and learn to follow SoPs, we will go through these nightmares as well.

yeah its good time in hands we should learn from mistakes and correct them sir

 

[swnjo]

Failure of Modi govt. ? Yes partly. You can't take the blame away from common man too. No body masked up when told, nobody maintained social distancing. Everyone lived as if corona was over, as if corona will affect someone else but not them. Not even govt. expected cases to rise so sharply , hence the vaccine diplomacy went on. Only if people had common sense we would not have seen these today. When vaccination started many were reluctant to get the shots. Many of my colleagues choose not to take it because they thought some rare venous thrombosis more plausible than dying of corona itself. So many thousand of doses were wasted. Blame the stupid people themselves for this suffering.

 

[xeuss]

I don't think so. But as you know, I've always thought he is useless

I use my school WhatsApp group as a barometer. All bhakts (that is 99% of our group, except myself and one other blessed soul) still blame everyone else and everything else, except Modi, for the present situation. The truly depraved ones blame Uddhav Thackeray for deliberately making the situation worse than it really is just to malign Modi. They gleefully point to UP and Bihar and say see...there is no Covid there.

 

[Jackdaws]

I use my school WhatsApp group as a barometer. All bhakts (that is 99% of our group, except myself and one other blessed soul) still blame everyone else and everything else, except Modi, for the present situation. The truly depraved ones blame Uddhav Thackeray for deliberately making the situation worse than it really is just to malign Modi. They gleefully point to UP and Bihar and say see...there is no Covid there.

I left my school whatsapp group a long while back. While I went to a Catholic school - most people were quiet while 2-3 Gujju bhakts went to town praising Modi 24x7. My opinion is that while many don't like him, they just don't air the views.

 

[UKBengali]

Failure of Modi govt. ? Yes partly. You can't take the blame away from common man too. No body masked up when told, nobody maintained social distancing. Everyone lived as if corona was over, as if corona will affect someone else but not them. Not even govt. expected cases to rise so sharply , hence the vaccine diplomacy went on. Only if people had common sense we would not have seen these today. When vaccination started many were reluctant to get the shots. Many of my colleagues choose not to take it because they thought some rare venous thrombosis more plausible than dying of corona itself. So many thousand of doses were wasted. Blame the stupid people themselves for this suffering.

Yes you cannot just blame Modi but why did he allow mass gatherings when India was just 2-3 more months from immunising its vulnerable with the AstraZeneca vaccine that is proven to prevent 95% of hospitalisations with just a single dose and nearly 100% protection from death?

Also the first phase 3 trial data results of the home-grown Indian vaccine shows similar efficacy to that of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

India was in a really good position as regards vaccines and although it seemed that "herd immunity" had been reached by February, Modi should not have gambled as he only needed to wait 2-3 more months.

 

[Imran Khan]

Failure of Modi govt. ? Yes partly. You can't take the blame away from common man too. No body masked up when told, nobody maintained social distancing. Everyone lived as if corona was over, as if corona will affect someone else but not them. Not even govt. expected cases to rise so sharply , hence the vaccine diplomacy went on. Only if people had common sense we would not have seen these today. When vaccination started many were reluctant to get the shots. Many of my colleagues choose not to take it because they thought some rare venous thrombosis more plausible than dying of corona itself. So many thousand of doses were wasted. Blame the stupid people themselves for this suffering.

wow why people wear masks and follow SOPs when prime minister having election rallies of millions ? did gov imposed it and showed it first place ?

even when he was in rallies he did not wearing mask

 

[Taimoor Khan]

Stay humble and vigilant Pakistan. But never lose focus on the enemies and their intentions.

Amid Coronavirus outbreak, Zee News tweets, 'Pakistan will die like Corona's death' - The Rational Daily

Amid Coronavirus outbreak, Zee News tweets, ‘Pakistan will die like Corona’s death’

 

[Peace be there]

We are going through bad time where country is at stand still.These is no beds available in hospital,running out of oxygen but soon things will start to change.From 1 st may vaccination is available for anyone above 18.Govt,authorities are working day in and day out to control the situation.We will stand up and rise again inshaAllah.

wow why people wear masks and follow SOPs when prime minister having election rallies of millions ? did gov imposed it and showed it first place ?

even when he was in rallies he did not wearing mask

Imran khan also not used to wear mask before he was caught by covid.

 

[Baby Leone]

While Indian Trolls were supporting Kumbh Mela.

Now they are paying the price for it.

sorry its because of few 100 muslims who did ijtema last year due to which india is gettting more then 300K cases daily not due to hindu mela where just around 100 million holi hindus gathered or the MODI political rallies to split venom agianst Pakistan or China.(Courtesy Indian media)

 

[N.Siddiqui]

India has exported more covid-19 vaccine to the world to earn higher profit, and also under WHO covax global obligation, than it has administered to it's own people.

India Has Exported 5.84 Crore Doses of COVID-19 Vaccines To 70 Countries: Data – The Wire Science

science.thewire.in

 

[xeuss]

Failure of Modi govt. ? Yes partly. You can't take the blame away from common man too. No body masked up when told, nobody maintained social distancing. Everyone lived as if corona was over, as if corona will affect someone else but not them. Not even govt. expected cases to rise so sharply , hence the vaccine diplomacy went on. Only if people had common sense we would not have seen these today. When vaccination started many were reluctant to get the shots. Many of my colleagues choose not to take it because they thought some rare venous thrombosis more plausible than dying of corona itself. So many thousand of doses were wasted. Blame the stupid people themselves for this suffering.

Common man will treat the virus with seriousness when the Government takes the virus seriously and it's messaging is direct and to the point.

What has the messaging been from the government? From thali bajao to diya jalao to gow mutra and ayurvedic concoctions to outright denials. To top it off, it offers encouragement of political and religious rallies.

In the US, the same mentality existed during the Trump reign and hundreds of thousands paid with their lives. The same happened in Brazil as well.

 

[swnjo]

Yes you cannot just blame Modi but why did he allow mass gatherings when India was just 2-3 more months from immunising its vulnerable with the AstraZeneca vaccine that is proven to prevent 95% of hospitalisations with just a single dose and nearly 100% protection from death?

Also the first phase 3 trial data results of the home-grown Indian vaccine shows similar efficacy to that of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

India was in a really good position as regards vaccines and although it seemed that "herd immunity" had been reached by February, Modi should not have gambled as he only needed to wait 2-3 more months.

election gathering, kumbh are just absolute madness. i blame govt. for these. But people, us the Indian, dont we have brains to understand simple logic. only stupid will go for election rally. Covaxin production has only recently ramped up in last few weeks and it did come up in right time . it just people called it too soon as one of the chinese poster has pointed out. it may sound bitter but it is correct. stupidity and impatience has gotten us bad now.

Common man will treat the virus with seriousness when the Government takes the virus seriously and it's messaging is direct and to the point.

What has the messaging been from the government? From thali bajao to diya jalao to gow mutra and ayurvedic concoctions to outright denials. To top it off, it offers encouragement of political and religious rallies.

In the US, the same mentality existed during the Trump reign and hundreds of thousands paid with their lives. The same happened in Brazil as well.

that is there, but i was talking of second wave. it could have been prevented, only if we could hold out for 2-3 months more. but nooo. people just could not demask and party and i m not even talking about maharastra or gujrat or election states. The state where i currently reside even held a cricket match and now my hospital simply doesnot have space for anything else.

wow why people wear masks and follow SOPs when prime minister having election rallies of millions ? did gov imposed it and showed it first place ?

even when he was in rallies he did not wearing mask

bhai logon ki apni common sense bhi hoti hain na ?? main toh nehi gaya koi rally ya mele mein ? now when situation is out of hand no point in cussing the govt.

 

[vi-va]

INDIA NEWS
'India defeated Covid-19 last year, can do it again with faster speed’: PM Modi at review meet

'India defeated Covid-19 last year, can do it again with faster speed’: PM Modi at review meet

“Reviewed preparedness to handle the ongoing COVID-19 situation. Aspects relating to medicines, oxygen, ventilators and vaccination were discussed," PM Modi tweeted after the meeting.

www.hindustantimes.com

 

[OIO]

India faces biggest human tragedy.

‘The system has collapsed’: India’s descent into Covid hell

Many falsely believed that the country had defeated Covid. Now hospitals are running out of oxygen and bodies are stacking up in morgues

• Coronavirus – latest updates
• See all our coronavirus coverage

by Hannah Ellis-Petersen in Delhi

Wed 21 Apr 2021 12.15 BST


Looking out over a sea of jostling, maskless faces gathered at a political rally in West Bengal on Saturday, the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, proudly proclaimed that he had “never ever seen such huge crowds”. A mask was also noticeably absent from Modi’s face.

That same day, India registered a record-breaking 234,000 new coronavirus cases and 1,341 deaths – and the numbers have kept rising since.

The country has descended into a tragedy of unprecedented proportions. Almost 1.6 million cases have been registered in a week, bringing total cases to more than 15 million. In the space of just 12 days, the Covid positivity rate doubled to 17%, while in Delhi it hit 30%. Hospitals across the country have filled to capacity but this time it is predominately the young taking up the beds; in Delhi, 65% of cases are under 40 years old.

While the unprecedented spread of the virus has been partly blamed on a more contagious variant that has emerged in India, Modi’s government has also been accused of failures of political leadership from the top, with lax attitudes emulated by state and local leaders from all parties and even health officials across the country, which led many to falsely believe in recent months that India had defeated Covid.

A patient wearing an oxygen mask is wheeled inside a Covid-19 hospital for treatment in Ahmedabad. Photograph: Amit Dave/Reuters

“Leadership across the country did not adequately convey that this was an epidemic which had not gone away,” said K Srinath Reddy, president of the Public Health Foundation of India.
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“Victory was declared prematurely and that ebullient mood was communicated across the country, especially by politicians who wanted to get the economy going and wanted to get back to campaigning. And that gave the virus the chance to rise again.”
In West Bengal, where Modi’s government has refused to curtail the drawn-out state elections that his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is hoping to win, Modi and his home minister, Amit Shah, continued their public meetings and roadshows into this week even as queues of ambulances lined up outside hospitals across India. On Saturday, the same day as Modi’s rally, the state registered 7,713 new cases – the highest since the pandemic began. Three candidates running in the election have died from the virus. By Sunday, #ModiMadeDisaster began trending on Twitter.

Doctors on the frontline broke down, speaking of the deluge of dying Covid patients they had been unable to treat due to a lack of beds and inadequate state and central government preparation.
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Dr Amit Thadhani, director of Niramaya hospital in Mumbai, which is only treating Covid patients, said he had given warnings about a virulent second wave back in February but they had gone ignored. He said now his hospital was “completely full and if a patient gets discharged, the bed is filled within minutes”. Ten days ago, the hospital ran out of oxygen, but alternative supplies were found just in time.

“There are people lined up outside the hospital trying to get in and every day we are getting calls every 30 seconds from someone trying to find a bed,” said Thadhani. “Most of these calls are for patients who are critically ill and do need hospital care but there just isn’t enough capacity and so there is a lot of mortality happening. Everyone has been stretched to their limit.”
Thadhani said this time round the virus was “much more aggressive and much more infectious” and was now predominately affecting young people. “Now it is people in their 20s and 30s who are coming in with very severe symptoms and there is a lot of mortality among young people,” he said.

Health workers and relatives carry the body of a man who died from coronavirus, at a crematorium in New Delhi. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters
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The haunting blare of ambulance sirens continued to ring out across the capital almost non-stop. Inside Lok Nayak government hospital in Delhi, the largest Covid facility in the capital, overburdened facilities and a shortage of oxygen cylinders meant there was two to a bed, while outside patients waiting for beds gasped for air on stretchers and in ambulances, while sobbing relatives stood by their sides. Some sat with oxygen cylinders they had bought themselves out of desperation. Others died waiting in the hospital car park.

In Mumbai, which was the first city to bear the brunt of the second wave, Dr Jalil Parkar of Lilavati hospital said that “the whole healthcare system has collapsed and doctors are exhausted”.

“There is a shortage of beds, shortage of oxygen, shortage of drugs, shortage of vaccines, shorting of testing,” said Parkar.

“Even though we opened another wing for Covid, we still don’t have nearly enough beds, so we have had to put some patients in the corridors and we have turned the basement into a triage area for Covid patients. We have people waiting in ambulances and wheelchairs outside the hospital and we have to sometimes give them oxygen out there. What else can we do?”
Even those in the upper echelons of power struggled to find beds for their loved ones. Vijay Singh Kumar, the national minister for transport and a BJP MP in the state of Uttar Pradesh, resorted to Twitter with the plea: “Please help us, my brother needs a bed for corona treatment. Now beds are not being arranged in Ghaziabad.”

Announcing a six-day lockdown to prevent the complete collapse of the healthcare system, Delhi’s chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal, did not mince his words. “The Covid situation in Delhi is grim,” he said on Monday. Over 99% of ICU beds in the capital were occupied that day and by Tuesday, several of Delhi’s top hospitals, all with hundreds of Covid patients, had declared oxygen emergencies, warning they had just hours of supplies left.

States such a Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh stand accused of covering up the true death toll from coronavirus, with the numbers of bodies stacking up in hospital morgues far outnumbering official fatality figures. Among the worst-hit cities in Uttar Pradesh was Lucknow, where 22-year-old Deepti Mistri – a mother of one who had no pre-existing health conditions – was among the city’s dead, after falling ill with Covid on 14 April.

Her uncle Saroj Kumar Pandey, an ambulance driver who raised her from childhood, said he had desperately tried to find her a hospital bed when, two days later, her oxygen level began to drop dangerously to below 50% but could not find anywhere that had room.

A notice about the shortage of coronavirus vaccine supplies is seen at a vaccination centre, in Mumbai. Photograph: Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters
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“I realised Deepti needed oxygen immediately so I arranged for a cylinder for her myself,” he said. “I put her into the back of a relative’s car with the oxygen while I went around to a dozen private and government hospitals trying to find her a bed and a ventilator. But nowhere would take her.”

Eventually, late at night on 16 April Pandey found her a bed in a small six-bed private clinic in Lucknow. It was not a Covid hospital but they agreed to take her for a single night to give her oxygen while Pandey continued his search for a hospital bed. “We kept looking all night but nowhere had a bed or ventilator for her,” he said. “In the morning the clinic discharged her at 5am, so we had no choice but to bring her home. Deepti died a few hours later because she did not have oxygen and hospital care. She should be alive today.”

People carry a medical oxygen cylinder at a refilling station in Allahabad. Photograph: Sanjay Kanojia/AFP/Getty Images
Twitter and Facebook have become a devastating catalogue of hundreds of thousands of urgent pleas for help finding hospital beds, oxygen, plasma and remdesivir, the drug experimentally used to help treat Covid patients, which remains in short supply in hospitals across the country.

The dead, meanwhile, have continued to overload crematoriums and graveyards in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Delhi faster than they could be burned, and families waited days to cremate their loved ones. On Sunday, Delhi’s largest cremation facility, Nigambodh Ghat, ran out of space, despite doubling its funeral pyres to more than 60.

State governments in Delhi and Mumbai have been scrambling to rebuild the temporary Covid facilities they had dismantled months earlier, while the central government announced an amping up of the vaccination programme which would mean anyone over the age of 18 will be eligible from 1 May, though a shortage of supplies remains an issue.

An edict from the government ruled that all oxygen meant for industrial use would now be diverted to hospitals to meet the unprecedented demand, and Indian railways said they were all set to operate special trains specially designed to carry liquid oxygen and oxygen cylinders, dubbed the “Oxygen Express”. Thousands of Covid beds have also been arranged in train carriages.

Still, many fear that it is too little, too late. “The seriousness of the situation should have been realised months ago but instead governments were in denial and gave out messages that the virus was not that dangerous any more,” said Thadhani. “I’m worried that we still have not seen the worst.”

‘The system has collapsed’: India’s descent into Covid hell

Many falsely believed that the country had defeated Covid. Now hospitals are running out of oxygen and bodies are stacking up in morgues

www.theguardian.com

At the beginning of 2020, Wuhan also needs ultra-conventional oxygen. Fortunately, there is one of the largest steel plants in the world.