India continues to reel under its second coronavirus wave, with continuing shortages of oxygen, hospitals beds, medicines and ambulances, while its national inoculation programme has almost ground to a halt as vaccination supplies dry up. Lack of testing in many states, especially India’s most densely inhabited northern Uttar Pradesh, with a population of more than 204 million, means that many cases aren’t being detected, activists claim. Disturbing footage on several news channels showed some 100 bodies of suspected Covid victims floating in the Ganges river near Buxar in eastern Bihar district, which borders Uttar Pradesh. India’s vaccination programme, which began in February, has also fallen apart. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation in Washington has estimated that India will see one million deaths from Covid-19 by August 1st.

Source: The Irish Times May 10, 2021 15:18 UTC