India has overtaken Brazil to become the world's second worst affected country by the corona virus epidemic.
A total of
90,802 new cases have been registered’ overnight, bringing the total number of
cases to 4,204,613.
India has
taken only 13 days in three to four million cases, while Brazil has taken 25
days and the United States 16 days.
With a
record number of new corona virus cases daily, India has the highest infection
rate anywhere in the world.
According to
the Indian Ministry of Health, less than a quarter of these cases are active
and the recovery rate is over 77%.
Although the
death toll could drop to 1.7%, - one of the lowest in the world - more than
70,000 people have been infected’ so far.
It is not
known’ why the death rate is so low, although experts point to the possible
causes of India's young population, the potentially low stress of Cove 19,
strong immune system and high levels of heat in the country. Is.
The
government has enhanced its testing capabilities with more than one million
tests a day, one of the reasons for the increase in day-to-day operations.
But the
concern is on a large number of issues in small towns, cities and rural India.
Dr. Harendra
Kushwaha is in charge of the Covid 19 Rapid Response Team at Indirapuram,
Ghaziabad.
His team is
monitoring two blocks of Makanpur and Kinauni, comprising about 200,000 people,
screening and assessing people living in vulnerable areas.
Dr. Kushwaha
told Sky News: "These are Corona Warriors who are risking their lives
together with COVID-19 patients and their families.
"People
don't know if they're carrying the virus and maybe it could spread blindly. We
have to break the chain."
We followed
him to one of the residential areas where he met with relatives of coronavirus
patients who are under house arrest.
Equipped
with thermometers, oximeters, sanitizers and medicines, they kept checking key
statistics of people living within a 100-meter radius of a case.
Resident
Anand Dubey said: "We are all very worried about the virus. These teams
are coming to homes and raising awareness. It is very important and it makes a
big difference."
India's
public health system is severely inadequate and its infrastructure is
crumbling.
For decades,
successive governments have spent more than 1% of GDP on public health care.
Two-thirds
of the population rely on private medical care, which is expensive. An illness
can wipe out savings and impoverish a family.
The poor are
the most vulnerable and epidemics have made life more difficult in these
difficult times.
For those
working in the informal sector, who make up about 80 percent of the country's
working population, getting tested’ in a hospital could mean missing a day's
work.
This is where
free mobile test clinics come in handy.
A doctor is
running Sunil Minj, whose rapid antigen test goes to mobile clinic patients.
With the
help of two laboratory technicians, they examine about 400 people a day in
slums, markets and construction sites in Delhi.
Dr Sunil
told Sky News: "With [lockdown easing], migrants are returning and
inadvertently carrying the virus.
"They
live nearby and are reluctant to take the exam for fear of being imprisoned for
14 days, which means there will be a loss of livelihood."
It was the
worst lockdown in India in months.
But now with
the gradual unlock, life has returned to normal.
This is one
of the reasons for the record number of daily cases in the country. Last week,
an average of 1,000 deaths were reported’ daily.
This is an
offensive sign for the country, as the spread of the virus is on an upward
trend with no signs of abating.
At Hindon
crematorium, a family gathered far away from the face of a 53-year-old woman
who died in Cove 19.
Only members
of the family in the PPE suit were allowed’ to perform the last rites.
A proper
Hindu ritual, which would have been indispensable for the bereaved family, was
quickly and in short supply.
COVID-19 has
deprived everyone in life and death.
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