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NEW DELHI: The number of coronavirus cases in India surpassed 9 million on Friday (November 20), as hospitals in the capital New Delhi came under increasing pressure and cemeteries began to fill up.
The second most affected country in the world has now also recorded more than 132,000 deaths from the disease, according to the latest official figures, which are considered to underestimate the true magnitude of the infection.
India has seen a drop in daily cases over the past month, but it still records around 45,000 new cases on average every day.
New Delhi, facing the double scourge of winter pollution and coronavirus, has seen infections surpass half a million with a record rise in daily cases.
READ: Trouble for COVID-19 patients as New Delhi suffers from ‘severe’ air pollution for third day
On Thursday, the megacity government quadrupled fines for not wearing a mask in an effort to control the outbreak.
In one of the largest cemeteries in Delhi, burial space is quickly running out, gravedigger Mohammed Shamim told AFP.
“Initially when the virus broke out I thought it would bury 100 to 200 people and it would be done. But the current situation is beyond my wildest thoughts,” Shamim said.
“I only have room for about 50 or 60 burials. And then what? I have no idea.”
COVERAGE FATIGUE
India imposed a strict lockdown in March, but restrictions have been gradually eased as the government seeks to restart the economy after millions of jobs lost.
Experts say this has helped spread the disease, as has a general reluctance to wear masks and maintain physical detachment.
But those restrictions are now returning.
Authorities in the western city of Ahmedabad have imposed a full curfew over the weekend.
“During this period, only stores selling milk and medicine will be allowed to remain open,” said local official Rajiv Kumar Gupta.
“The increase in the number of cases is a concern, mainly because it is driven by people not following the basic protocol of behavior appropriate to the crown,” said Anand Krishnan, professor of community medicine at the Institute of Medical Sciences of India. Delhi.
Hemant Shewade, a Bangalore-based community medicine expert, said that cases outside of major towns and cities were likely not accounted for in official figures.
“I suppose it is slowly and quietly spreading in rural areas,” Shewade told AFP.
READ: High use of antigen tests in India risks underestimating the spread of COVID-19, says diagnostician
In Delhi, the specter of the virus that is wreaking havoc has returned to haunt its 20 million residents as families scramble to fix hospital beds.
More than 90 percent of intensive care beds with fans were occupied as of Thursday, a government mobile app showed.
“My father’s oxygen saturation level suddenly dropped to 35 percent and we rushed to the nearby hospital, but there were no beds available,” Rajeev Nigam, a Delhi resident, told AFP.
“We ran all night from hospital to hospital, but it was the same story everywhere,” he said, blaming the Delhi government for “not being prepared” and “insensitive” in its approach.
Distressed families were making fervent pleas on social media, asking Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for help in securing the beds.
Under pressure to control the new wave, Kejriwal announced on Thursday the addition of 1,400 intensive care beds.
Jeevendra Srivastava, an advertising professional, said Delhi was paying the price for overcrowding during the current holiday season.
“It’s shocking how some people still don’t take this deadly virus seriously,” said Srivastava, 47.
“People keep going to crowded places without masks. It is because of this irresponsible behavior that now almost every second house has a case of the virus.”
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