China News Service, May 10, reported that the situation of the new crown epidemic in India has continued to deteriorate.
The Indian Ministry of Health released data on the 9th, showing that the country has 403,738 newly confirmed cases and a total of 22,296,414 confirmed cases; 4092 new deaths and a total of 24,362 deaths.
On the 8th local time, the British medical journal "The Lancet" published an article criticizing that the scene in India was incomprehensible.
If the cumulative number of deaths from the new crown in India reaches a staggering 1 million by August 1, the Indian government will be responsible for "this national disaster it has caused itself."
May 6, 2021 local time, New Delhi, India, a patient with new coronary pneumonia in the ICU ward of the Holy Family Hospital.
Image source: Visual China
New Delhi, the capital, extended its "closure" for the third time
As of the 9th, the number of newly confirmed cases in India in a single day exceeded 300,000 for 18 consecutive days, more than 400,000 for 4 consecutive days, and more than 4,000 deaths for 2 consecutive days.
In response to the still severe situation of the new crown epidemic, Chief Minister Kejriwal of New Delhi, the Indian capital, announced on the 9th that the current "closure" measures would be extended for another week to the 17th.
This is also the third time that New Delhi has extended the "closure" measures.
According to reports, this time the measures are more stringent and the subway in New Delhi will stop operating.
Previously, due to the deteriorating epidemic situation, India has tightened epidemic prevention and control measures in many places.
New Delhi has implemented a city-wide blockade on April 19, and has since announced an extension of the blockade on April 25 and May 1, respectively.
Currently, hospitals in India are overcrowded, medical staff are exhausted, and infections continue to occur.
The British medical journal "The Lancet" published an article criticizing that India's current "suffering" scene is incomprehensible.
The article pointed out that as of May 4, India had reported an average of 378,000 confirmed cases every day, and the cumulative death toll exceeded 222,000.
Experts believe that this data may be seriously underestimated.
On May 5, 2021 local time, Kolkata, India, people returned home by local train.
It is reported that all local trains in West Bengal will be suspended due to the epidemic lockdown.
Image source: SIPAPHOTO
"The Lancet": The Indian government is responsible for the disaster
"The Lancet" stated in the article that before the second wave of epidemics hit in early March, the Indian Minister of Health also announced that the Indian epidemic was coming to an end, despite the continuous emergence of warnings about the dangers of the second wave of epidemics and new strains.
Moreover, the model erroneously shows that India has achieved herd immunity, making it "comprehensive and underprepared" to face the epidemic.
The article specifically pointed out that in the face of various warnings, the Indian government still allows religious festivals to continue, attracting millions of people from all over the country to participate, and also holding large-scale political gatherings.
It is worth noting that these activities lack epidemic prevention measures.
In addition, the “message that the epidemic has basically ended” also slowed the start of the Indian vaccination campaign.
The Institute of Health Measurement and Evaluation (IHME) of the University of Washington once predicted based on models that by August 1, the number of deaths from the new crown in India may reach a staggering 1 million.
In this regard, "The Lancet" pointed out that if such a result occurs, the Indian government will be responsible for "the national disaster caused by itself."
On May 5, 2021 local time, the Adani Vidya Mandir School in the suburb of Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India, has been converted into a new crown care center, and the administrator is arranging beds.
Promote vaccines and reduce spread: India needs a "two-pronged approach
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The Lancet article stated that India wasted its early success in controlling the epidemic.
India must now adjust its response measures as the crisis rages.
The article calls that India must now adopt a "two-pronged" strategy.
First, India must rationalize its "bad" vaccination campaign and implement it as soon as possible.
Need to start from two aspects of vaccine supply and distribution.
Second, India must reduce the spread of the new coronavirus as much as possible while introducing vaccines.
The Indian government must release accurate new crown data in a timely manner, and directly explain to the public what is happening and what measures need to be taken to reverse the epidemic curve, including possible new lockdown measures.
At the same time, the Indian government needs to expand genome sequencing to better track, understand, and control emerging, more infectious variant viruses.