Coronavirus: in India, the number of cases explodes in campaigns

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For the past month, more than 6 million daily workers have fled the stopped Indian cities, often taking the coronavirus with them to areas that were not previously affected.

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With our correspondent in New Delhi, Sébastien Farcis

India remains one of the last major countries with the highest number of Covid-19 cases every day. With 10,000 cases and nearly 300 deaths daily, India is on the verge of overtaking Italy, the United Kingdom and Spain, to become the fourth most affected country in the world. One reason is the increase in cases in the countryside, which had so far been largely spared.

For the past month, more than 6 million daily workers have in fact fled the stopped Indian cities, by special trains, towards their countryside of origin. Millions more have traveled by bus, bicycle, and even on foot.

However, these internal migrants often take the coronavirus with them to areas that were not affected. In the poor state of Bihar, 70% of people infected with Covid-19 are workers who have recently returned. In Odisha State, which has seen the return of 450,000 people, 80% of coronavirus cases are now in the countryside.

And these rural areas are not equipped to deal with the pandemic. In large wealthy cities like New Delhi or Bombay, which have many private hospitals, patients are already being refused for lack of beds or respirators. In the countryside, where the population depends almost entirely on under-equipped public hospitals, the situation could become catastrophic.

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• India
• Coronavirus

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