"One of my classmates has passed away. My uncle may have contracted new coronary pneumonia. At home, his condition is not very good. At least 5 people I know are now rescued in the hospital." A 50-year-old asked not to be named. The residents of Mumbai sadly told the CBN reporter.
In the past few days, the number of confirmed cases of new coronary pneumonia in India has been increasing, and it has broken the highest record of confirmed cases in a single day in the world for the fifth consecutive day.
According to the latest data released by the Ministry of Health of India on the 26th, more than 350,000 people were diagnosed in India on the previous day. The number of confirmed cases exceeded one million within three days, and the total number of confirmed cases has exceeded 17 million.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged all citizens to get vaccinated as soon as possible on the 25th and increase their vigilance against the epidemic.
He said in a radio speech: "We have been morale high after successfully responding to the first wave of epidemics. But now, this wave of epidemics has shaken the entire country."
In an interview with a reporter from China Business News, Huang Yinghong, a professor at Jindal Global University in India, said that the new round of the epidemic was similar to the first wave of the epidemic last year, or has a certain correlation with factors such as climate and festivals; in addition, the epidemic is in progress. The ups and downs of India are not unique to India. Other countries also need to learn from experience and lessons, make conservative judgments on the prospects of fighting the epidemic, and jointly respond to challenges.
A bottle of oxygen equals the average person’s half-year salary
Giridhar Rbabu, professor of epidemiology at the Public Health Foundation of India, believes that compared with the first wave of the epidemic last year, the current epidemic in India presents the characteristics of rapid spreading, more asymptomatic infections, and the majority of young infected people.
Due to the sharp deterioration of the epidemic situation in India, the number of new confirmed cases has shown an "explosive" increase.
The medical system is struggling to cope, the hospital has long been overwhelmed, and there is a serious shortage of oxygen and medicine.
Nowadays, almost every oxygen cylinder is the object of competition.
Outside hospitals in major cities, patients wait in long lines for medical treatment, and their families are worried.
All hospitals in the Indian capital, New Delhi, are overwhelmed. Most hospitals are full and oxygen is about to run out. Some patients died because of lack of oxygen after being sent to the hospital, and some died before being admitted to the hospital.
The capital New Delhi reported 357 deaths on the 25th, which means that one person will die of new coronary pneumonia every 4 minutes.
However, this number may still be the tip of the iceberg, because there are still too many patients who have died at home that have not listed the new coronary pneumonia as the cause of death.
Due to the shortage of oxygen, local oxygen supply is guaranteed as much as possible.
For this reason, an "oxygen battle" broke out between Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.
Delhi and Uttar Pradesh accused each other of transferring their own oxygen quotas, while Haryana directly accused Delhi of "robbing" the state's oxygen tanks.
Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij said in an interview with Indian media that an oxygen-carrying truck in the state was hijacked by the Delhi government while passing through Delhi.
To this end, he has asked the police to provide escorts for all trucks carrying oxygen.
In addition, the governments of many states have prohibited oxygen and oxygen transport vehicles from leaving the state.
Local governments cannot guarantee the supply of oxygen, which brings huge panic and confusion to ordinary people.
The desperate plea of patients' families and friends can be seen everywhere on various social platforms in India.
Information for help ranges from hospital beds to medications, CT scans, new coronavirus testing, and food supplies for the elderly during isolation.
In order to save their families, many people have to go to the informal black market to buy all kinds of medical supplies.
However, the price is not affordable for ordinary people.
According to British media reports, in order to save the life of her father-in-law, a Delhi woman named Priya spent 50,000 rupees (approximately 4340 yuan) on the black market to buy an oxygen cylinder, and under normal circumstances, an oxygen cylinder The price of the bottle is only 6000 rupees (approximately 521 yuan).
50,000 rupees is equivalent to the five-month salary of an ordinary Indian worker, and 50,000 rupees for a bottle of oxygen is only the starting price on the black market. In other places, a bottle of oxygen is even priced at 100,000 rupees, which is close to ordinary people. 1 year's salary.
In the face of the out-of-control epidemic, Chief Minister Kejriwal of New Delhi, the Indian capital, said on the 25th that the current city-wide blockade measures in New Delhi will be extended to May 3.
He said that in the past week, the positive rate of new coronavirus tests in New Delhi was as high as 36% to 37%, but it has dropped to 29% on the 25th.
Synchronize travel restrictions and assistance
As the epidemic situation in India continues to worsen, many countries are worried.
India’s neighboring countries and major countries in the world have successively introduced entry restrictions for Indian tourists.
On the 25th, Germany, Italy, Maldives and Bangladesh imposed restrictions on travel to and from India.
Take Germany as an example. Starting at midnight on the 26th, Germany will impose an entry ban on India.
This means that only German citizens or foreigners with the right of abode in Germany can fly from India to Germany, but even they need to show a negative report of the new coronavirus test before entering the country and be quarantined upon arrival.
The German Minister of Health Spun told the media: “In order not to endanger our vaccination activities, travel to India must be restricted.” The source also revealed that the German government is considering suspending air travel with India, including some indirect flight.
At a time when countries are vying to impose restrictions on travel to India, many wealthy Indians fled India by private jets.
According to British media reports, 8 private jets carrying Indian super-rich landed at London Airport before 4 am on the 24th when the British travel restrictions on India took effect.
The last landing time was 3:15 in the morning, which was only 44 minutes before the restrictions took effect.
At the same time, many Indians fled to the UAE, causing the air ticket from New Delhi to Dubai to increase by 5 times than usual.
At the same time, there are rumors that Thailand has also become a destination for rich Indians to flee. However, at the Thai national epidemic news conference on the 25th, the spokesperson said that after communicating with the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he confirmed that the above rumors are not true and that there are no rich Indians. Chartered flight into Thailand.
On the one hand, countries impose restrictions on travel to and from India, but on the other hand, they have also shown a humanitarian spirit and provided India with urgently needed medical supplies.
The United States said it will immediately provide raw materials for the manufacture of the new crown vaccine.
According to British media reports, the UK has begun shipping ventilators and oxygen concentrators to India, and EU member states are also about to ship their related equipment.
Even India's "freak" Pakistan has expressed its willingness to provide India with medical equipment and supplies.
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan blessed India on Twitter for "quickly defeating the epidemic." A charity organization in the country also wrote to Modi, expressing its willingness to provide 50 ambulances.
On April 23, the spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a regular press conference: “The Chinese government and people firmly support the Indian government and people in fighting the epidemic, and are willing to provide support and assistance according to the needs of the Indian side. Communication. The Chinese side believes that the Indian people will be able to overcome the epidemic as soon as possible."
Author: Qian Xiaoyan