Covid-19: India submerged by a big wave of contamination
Queue at a vaccination center in New Delhi.
April 10, 2021. AFP - PRAKASH SINGH
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
India is facing its worst wave of contamination since the start of the pandemic, with more than 165,000 cases recorded in the last 24 hours, almost twice as many as during the last peak in September 2020. Above all, the virus is spreading. spreads much faster, and sometimes is not even detected by tests.
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With our correspondent in New Delhi
,
Sébastien Farcis
For several days, general practitioner Souradipta Chandra has been drowning in appointments in his Helvetia clinic in southern New Delhi.
“
Normally I see a maximum of 20 patients, but yesterday I must have seen around 60, 40 of whom were positive for Covid.
My last meeting was at half past two in the morning.
I'm exhausted.
The virus spreads like a forest fire.
This second wave is much more vicious.
For example, if a person is infected, their whole family will have symptoms, it has to be
”.
Most worrying is that the PCR test no longer even detects all cases.
“
The virus adapts intelligently and this Indian mutation seems to escape detection.
Many, many of our patients test negative but have severe symptoms: headaches are now the most common, all of my patients suffer from it.
It also affects the brain, as many suffer from confusion
.
"
Out of stock
The New Delhi government has just converted 14 hospitals into Covid centers and is bracing for the worst.
The capital recorded more than 11,000 cases in 24 hours, a third more than the peak of the last wave.
And it is increasing very rapidly.
So much so that India has approved the Russian Sputnik V vaccine against Covid-19 and is preparing to issue emergency authorizations for vaccines developed and manufactured abroad, as the vaccination campaign is in full swing .
India, home of Serum Institute (SII), the world's largest vaccine maker, launched its mass vaccination campaign in mid-January and 108 million doses have already been administered.
But the government's ambitious goal of vaccinating 300 million people by the end of July is lagging behind due to stockouts in some states and public reluctance towards vaccines.
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To read also:
Covid-19 in India: dazzling return of the virus, a curfew decreed in several cities
India: world's largest vaccine producer announces delivery delays
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