Why is the situation now out of control in India

The new pollution curve is vertical. On Sunday, April 25, India recorded nearly 350,000 cases of COVID-19 within 24 hours, a peak never recorded in the world. In the second most populous country after China, with a population of 1.3 billion, the epidemic is spreading. Franceinfo explains why some of the signals are particularly troubling.

Because there were more than 700,000 cases in two days

The numbers are staggering. Already very high, the pollution rate has risen again. Ten days ago, India detected 200,000 cases per day. For two days, the number increased to 350,000 new cases per day. It is the country most affected after the United States. More than 16.9 million Indians have contracted the disease, According to the data (In English) From Johns Hopkins University.

Meanwhile, more than 5,000 Covid-19 deaths have been counted since Friday. However, the general opinion is that this number may have been greatly underestimated. “In a country where the number of cremations far exceeds the official figures”TV5 Monde journalist Sophie Golstein confirms, citing an investigation Financial times On Twitter.

The exponential development of the epidemic in #Andy, Where the number of cremations, in particular, far exceeds the official figures … the Financial Times investigation, which will be carried out. #India https://t.co/2a3tVBXiNj

– Sophie Golstein (FreeBEEz) April 23, 2021

In the face of the worrying situation, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Sunday that her government is preparing to provide emergency aid to India. No details were immediately available. But weekly woman He said, citing unidentified sources, that the German armed forces had received a request for help in organizing the oxygen supply.

Because hospitals lack everything

To make matters worse for this troubling situation, the The health system is about to explode, according to an France 2 correspondent immediately. She explained in a report that she is overburdened. A hospital in the capital, New Delhi, no longer has a choice: in the face of the influx of patients and the lack of places, patients must be treated in the street, where they sometimes die.

At the entrance to the emergency room, as I described, a lifeless body was abandoned. A man waits desperately for a bed for his uncle. “I’ve been here since 10 am this morning, and no hospital wants it. I’ve tried four in total but they all send me away.”, Sorry.

New Delhi, With a population of 20 million, it is the Indian communities hardest hit by the epidemic. A decision was made for containment there to try to relieve pressure on hospitals facing serious shortages of oxygen. So much so, that requests for help proliferate on social networks to find oxygen, or a free hospital bed. All means are good. Some Covid-19 survivors are involved in this issue, turning into real heroes like Gaurav Rai known as “Oxygen Man”: In an effort to save lives, the latter gives free oxygen bottles, in his hometown, Patna (two million people) in the north of the country.

The crisis highlights the ailing state of the Indian health system, and Indian states are now engaged in “A war without mercyWith the purpose “Serving their hospitals as a priority” In oxygen, the details the world (Article reserved for subscribers). The daily reports that armed men have been used to protect manufacturers, and endless lines in front of the buildings “A lot of demand has exploded.”. Meanwhile, anger is mounting against the federal government’s unwillingness to confront this pandemic wave.

To lower the thermometer, the CEO asked the social network Twitter to delete some tweets critical of its management of the epidemic, according to the website. the edge (Article in English). On Sunday, the social network confirmed that it had deleted, at the request of the Indian authorities, dozens of tweets critical of the executive authority, and some of them denounced the lack of resources in hospitals where patients died due to lack of oxygen.

Because the variable discovered in India could play a role

Other than lack of preparation or an outdated health system, the alternative has been spotted in India (B.1.617 from its scientific name) is suspected to be one of the factors behind the increase in the number of cases in India. Thus it became the majority in Maharashtra, home to India’s economic capital, Bombay. This alternative “Like those in South Africa or Brazil. These are variants of the original Wuhan strain that acquired mutations by spreading too much into a society that was not immune.”Presented on franceinfo by Karen Lacombe, Head of the Infectious Diseases Department at Saint-Antoine Hospital in Paris.

This variable is also suspected to be capable of causing A. “Immune escape“. clearly, “It can thwart the antibodies.” Produced during a previous injury or during vaccination and thus are resistant to it, Rakesh Mishra explained, Director of the Center for Molecular and Cellular Biology in India, In France 2.

Should we be concerned about this alternative in France? to me maps drawing Created by Public Health FranceIt was just there on April 21st Two cases are related to this variant, “Imported to the French Antilles” And it was monitored by health authorities. This does not mean that there is no more, all the cases have not been identified in France. In France, passengers on flights arriving from India are now imposed a ten-day quarantine.