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India breaks daily COVID-19 record with over 412,000 confirmed cases
By Gabrielle Fonrouge
May 6, 2021
India broke its own record for daily coronavirus cases and deaths again on Thursday as the country grapples with a spiraling crisis made worse because of a critical lack of oxygen.
The number of new confirmed infections reached 412,262 on Thursday, the second time this month that daily cases topped 400,000, while the Health Ministry reported 3,980 new deaths over the last 24 hours. Both figures are considered undercounts, experts said.
Demand for medical oxygen in the country has also jumped sevenfold, compounding the problem.
On Wednesday night, 11 COVID-19 patients died when pressure in an oxygen line suddenly dropped, possibly because of a faulty valve, the Times of India reported.
Most infirmaries in India don’t have independent plants that generate oxygen directly for patients — doctors typically rely on liquid oxygen stored in cylinders and transported in tankers, but supplies in hard-hit locales are running critically short.
Harsh Vadhan, the country’s health minister, claimed there is enough oxygen supply but there are difficulties getting it to the places that need it most. Most oxygen is produced in eastern sections of the country, but demand is rising in northern and western parts.
Experts told the Washington Post that India could soon be seeing 500,000 new cases a day before the surge begins to taper off, and K. Vijay Raghvan, a primary scientific adviser to India’s government, said the current phase of the crisis is a “very critical time for the country.”
nypost.com
By Gabrielle Fonrouge
May 6, 2021
India broke its own record for daily coronavirus cases and deaths again on Thursday as the country grapples with a spiraling crisis made worse because of a critical lack of oxygen.
The number of new confirmed infections reached 412,262 on Thursday, the second time this month that daily cases topped 400,000, while the Health Ministry reported 3,980 new deaths over the last 24 hours. Both figures are considered undercounts, experts said.
Demand for medical oxygen in the country has also jumped sevenfold, compounding the problem.
On Wednesday night, 11 COVID-19 patients died when pressure in an oxygen line suddenly dropped, possibly because of a faulty valve, the Times of India reported.
Most infirmaries in India don’t have independent plants that generate oxygen directly for patients — doctors typically rely on liquid oxygen stored in cylinders and transported in tankers, but supplies in hard-hit locales are running critically short.
Harsh Vadhan, the country’s health minister, claimed there is enough oxygen supply but there are difficulties getting it to the places that need it most. Most oxygen is produced in eastern sections of the country, but demand is rising in northern and western parts.
Experts told the Washington Post that India could soon be seeing 500,000 new cases a day before the surge begins to taper off, and K. Vijay Raghvan, a primary scientific adviser to India’s government, said the current phase of the crisis is a “very critical time for the country.”
India breaks daily COVID-19 record with over 412,000 confirmed cases
India broke its own record for daily coronavirus cases and deaths again as the country grapples with a spiraling crisis made worse because of a critical lack of oxygen supply.
nypost.com
