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A top scientific adviser to the Indian government warned on Wednesday the country would inevitably face further waves of the Covid-19 pandemic, as almost 4,000 people died in the space of a day.
With hospitals scrabbling for beds and oxygen in response to a deadly second surge in infections, the World Health Organisation said in a weekly report that India accounted for nearly half the Covid-19 cases reported worldwide last week and a quarter of the deaths.
Many people have died in ambulances and carparks waiting for a bed or oxygen, while morgues and crematoriums struggle to deal with a seemingly unstoppable flow of bodies.
The government's principal scientific adviser K. VijayRaghavan warned that, even after infection rates subside, the country should be ready for a third wave. "Phase 3 is inevitable, given the high levels of circulating virus," he told a news briefing. "But it is not clear on what timescale this phase 3 will occur. We should prepare for new waves."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has been widely criticised for not acting sooner to suppress the second wave, after religious festivals and political rallies drew millions of people in recent weeks and became "super spreader" events.
India's delegation to the Group of Seven foreign ministers' meeting in London is self-isolating after two of its members tested positive for Covid-19.
Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, who is in London, said in a Twitter message that he would attend virtually.
Deaths rose by a record 3,780 over 24 hours, health ministry data showed, and daily infections rose by 382,315 on Wednesday. The number has been in excess of 300,000 every day for the past two weeks.
Medical experts say India's actual figures could be five to 10 times the official tallies.
The opposition has urged a nationwide lockdown, but the government is reluctant to impose one for fear of the economic fallout, although several states have adopted social curbs.
The surge in infections has coincided with a dramatic drop in vaccinations because of supply and delivery problems, despite India being a major vaccine producer.
At least three states, including Maharashtra, have reported a scarcity of vaccines, shutting down some inoculation centres.
The government said production capacity for the antiviral drug remdesivir, used to treat Covid-19 patients, has trebled to 10.3 million vials per month, up from 3.8 million vials a month ago. But daily testing has fallen sharply to 1.5 million, state-run Indian Council of Medical Research said, off a peak of 1.95 million on Saturday.
Two "oxygen express" trains carrying liquid oxygen arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday. More than 25 trains have distributed oxygen supplies nationwide.
The government says supplies are sufficient but transport woes have hindered distribution.
Meanwhile, the outbreak continues to spread. In Mizoram, a state bordering Myanmar, beds in its biggest Covid-19 hospital are in such short supply that people with other diseases have been asked to leave, said government official Dr Z.R. Thiamsanga.
Just three of a total 14 ventilators were still available. "In my opinion, a complete lockdown is required to control the situation," he said.
Neighbouring Nepal is also being overwhelmed by a surge of infections as India's outbreak spreads across South Asia. It has 57 times as many cases since a month ago.
Reuters
